Reunion
by iprayforangels
Summary: Tentoo and Rose join Torchwood Cardiff. A group of Time Agents show up, baring the faces and names of some of our favorite characters from tv shows, video games, books, comics, and podcasts.
1. Chapter 1

"You must be Agent Tyler. Hi, Captain Jack Harkness." Jack walked across the hub to shake her hand. Rose smiled politely.

"It's nice to meet you." She had missed Jack and was happy to see him but it was weird seeing him and him not kn

her at all.

"It's a pleasure to have you on the team. Torchwood London doesn't usually talk to us. It's nice to finally meet you in person. You're as pretty as I was warned." he added flashing a charming smile

"Jack." Ianto leaned back in his chair to look at him. He scowled and Jack shrugged.

"So Agent Tyler…"

"Please, Rose."

"Okay Rose. I was told you were bringing a recruit with you."

"Oh, yes, he's upstairs admiring your invisible lift. Though it's actually a perception field, yeah?"

"How did you know?" Jack asked shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I didn't. He told me. He's a specialist." Rose turned around as the door clanged open. The Doctor stood there in his tight blue suit, red shirt, and spiky hair, looking sexy as ever. Jack raised his eyebrows.

"Hi, Captain Jack Harkness." Jack put out his hand, smirking sexilily.

"Stop it." The Doctor scolded shaking Jack's hand.

"What?" Jack said taking his hand away. Rose looked at The Doctor irritatedly. He rolled his eyes. Rose smiled.

"This is The Doctor."

"Pleasure to meet you but we already have a doctor." Jack said gesturing to Owen who was working across the room.

"I'm not usually a medical doctor, though I do have my moments. I'm a doctor of everything."

"That doesn't sound like an ego."

"You should talk." The Doctor said shoving his hands in his pockets and walking off. Rose looked at Jack and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry. He's a bit of a twat."

"An attractive twat." Jack said watching The Doctor as he wandered around the room.

"Don't I know it." Rose said. Jack smiled at her.

"I feel like I've met you before." Jack said looking her up and down. Her ruffled white blouse, tight black pants, and high red heels somehow felt wrong to him. Like she should be wearing something else.

"I've got a face like that." Rose said.

"Oh!" The Doctor said looking at the glass next to Jack's office. Jack and Rose walked up next to him.

"You've got circular gallifreyan on your wall!" The Doctor said excitedly.

"You can read circular gallifreyan?" Jack asked looking at him.

"I can write _and_ read gallifreyan. Hell, I am gallifreyan."

"That's impossible."

"Nothings impossible Jack. You're a time traveler you should know that." The Doctor said leaning forward to look closer at the writing.

"How did you know that?"

"I can recognise a time agent. Also you're wearing a vortex manipulator as a watch. You know you spelled 'time' wrong."

"What?"

"' _They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.'_ That's Andy Warhol yes?"

"Yeah. We dated a bit." Jack said smugly. The Doctor looked at him.

"I met him a while back. Nice guy. Anyway, you spelled 'time' like 'tyme' the herb. You put a big intersecting circle at the bottom when you should have put a line and small circle."

"Then maybe you can spell check my gallifreyan for me. First you two should meet the team. Everyone!" The team turned to look at them. "We've got new members." The team got up and walked over to them.

"This is Gwen Cooper, Dr Open Harper, Toshiko Sato, and Ianto Jones. Guys this is Rose Tyler and The Doctor." People shook hands.  
"Why are we getting a new doctor?" Owen asked crossing his arms. The Doctor smiled.

"I'm not a medical doctor. It's all good. I'm not here to replace you." The Doctor said shaking Owen's hand. Jack watched The Doctor and Rose as they introduced themselves to the team. Rose and Gwen immediately struck up a conversation. Jack watched them with crossed arms.

"Who are they Jack?" Ianto asked, standing next to him.

"Transfers from Torchwood London."

"What do you think of them?"

"She seems nice. He's a bit of a twat."

"So are you Jack." The Doctor said looking at him.

"Doctor, play nice." Rose said crossing her arms. He raised his eyebrows at her. Gwen, Owen, and Tosh finished introducing themselves and walked off.

"The Oncoming Twat." Jack muttered. The Doctor and Rose both turned to stare at him wide eyed.

"What?" He asked.

"Did you just call me The Oncoming Twat?"

"So?" Jack asked. Rose and The Doctor looked at each other.

"Why?" The Doctor asked taking a step toward him.

"Because you're acting like a twat."

"But why 'The Oncoming Twat?'" Jack blinked a couple times.

"I… I don't know. Just sounded right. I don't-"

"You use to call me that."

"What? I just met you." Jack scoffed. He smiled at The Doctor for a moment before realizing The Doctor wasn't joking. His smiled dropped.

"How did you meet me?" The Doctor said looking intently at Jack. Jack cocked his head.

"Rose introduced us." Jack said.

"When?"

"World… No I met you a couple minutes ago. Why would I say…"

"World War Two." The Doctor finished his sentence for him. Jack stared at him, blank and confused.

"He can remember." Rose said covering her mouth. She stared at The Doctor.

"Seems he can." The Doctor said looking Jack up and down.

"But I've talked to him before. He didn't remember me then." Rose said. The Doctor looked at Jack closely.

"I must be throwing off his timeline."

"Who are you!?" Jack said pulling out his gun and pointing it at The Doctor. The Doctor backed up.

"God I hate guns." He said rolling his eyes.

"Then you shouldn't have joined Torchwood." Jack said backing The Doctor up.

"Put it down, Jack." The Doctor warned.

"Who are you?" Jack said fiercely. The Doctor looked at Jack skeptically. Ianto stared at Jack in shock and confusion.

"You wouldn't shoot me, Jack."

"Really? Are you sure about that?"

"You're Captain Jack Harkness (though that's not your birth name). Born on the Beauchene Peninsula in the fifty first century. Time agent, poster boy, and conman. You worked for the time agency until they stole a year of your memories. To retaliate you started conning time agents. Your preferred locations where London blitz and pompa."

"How the hell do you know that!?" Jack yelled, stepping toward The Doctor. Rose looked around. The team had started to take notice. They stopped what they were doing to watch.

"I know you Jack. You know I know you." The Doctor said. Jack squinted at him as he tried to ignore the new random memories he didn't recognise that were appearing in his head. The Doctor looked at Jack for a moment then smiled.

"Do me a favor, Jack. Close your eyes. I want to help you remember."

"I don't owe you any favors." Jack said flatly.

"Then do her a favor." The Doctor pointed at Rose. Jack blinked and looked at Rose.

"What?" Rose said taken aback.

"I know I've been a twat, Jack, and I'm sorry. I'm used to you not caring. But Rose hasn't done anything to you. She's been nothing but kind. Do _her_ a favor." Jack watched Rose for a moment.

"How do I know you won't attack me or something." Jack said looking back at The Doctor. Even if he liked Rose he didn't trust The Doctor.

"What's your name again?" The Doctor said turning to Ianto.

"Ianto Jones." Ianto said looking confused.

"Jack clearly trusts you. Stand in between us and make sure I don't do anything weird. Jack, you alright with this?" Jack looked at Ianto before nodding. Ianto stood in front of Jack and looked at The Doctor. He drew his gun and pointed it at the floor.

"Jack, clear your mind. I want you to just zone out. Don't focus on anything. Just clear your mind. What's my name?"

"The Doctor." Jack scoffed.

"I said clear you mind. What's my companion's name?"

"Which one?" Jack asked. Ianto turned to look at Jack, surprised.

"Wait… Why did I ask that?" Jack asked opening his eyes.

"Close your eyes Jack. Don't question your answers. Just zone out." Jack closed his eyes again. The Doctor thought for a moment.

"How'd you meet Rose?"

"Over the phone when she applied for Torchwood three."

"What is a TARDIS."

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Timelords used them to travel through time."

"Do you know anyone who owns one?"

"I... I don't think so." Jack said. Jack was struggling to remember.

"How'd you meet Rose?" The Doctor repeated.

"Barrage balloon. She was going to fall." Things were starting to become clearer in Jack's mind.

"What does the TARDIS you've seen look like?"

"Police box." He muttered.

"You know me." The Doctor said. Jack opened his eyes and stared at The Doctor with shock and confusion.

"Why did I know all of that?" He asked.

"We know each other! In a parallel world we are friends." The Doctor said beaming at Jack.

"How?"

"Just think about it Jack." The Doctor said stepping toward him.

"I don't…." Suddenly Jack's eyes rolled up in his head and he blacked out. He fell back and Ianto had to catch him before he smacked his head into the floor. Ianto lifted Jack's head onto his lap. He looked up at The Doctor.

"The fuck was that!?" He asked holding Jack's head. The Doctor blinked.

"He's remembering a life he never had. Sorry I didn't realize. It's not going to be very comfortable."

"What?" Ianto stared at him. Jack's eyes fluttered open. Ianto looked down at him with concern. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I was immortal." Jack whispered.

"What?"  
"I was immortal. I died then I was back and I… I couldn't die."

"You're not immortal in this reality?" The Doctor asked looking down at him. He put out his hand and helped Jack to his feet.

"Neither are you. You're the metacrisis aren't you?" Jack asked.

"Yeah I am."

"You have his mind but you're human."

"Yeah. Last time I checked you were rather excited at the idea." The Doctor said smirking. Jack laughed.

"God my head hurts." Jack muttered, rubbing his temple.

"Sorry about that." The Doctor apologized. Jack turned to smile at Rose.

"He left you two here. So you could be together." Jack said. Rose smiled awkwardly and looked at The Doctor. Jack's smile faded.

"That other life. The life from your universe. I… I was immortal and miserable. I was still me. Sleeping my way through time and space," Ianto, still sitting on the floor, looked down at his lap, "but I had lost so much. Owen and Tosh…" Jack trailed off. He looked down at Ianto and put out his hand. He helped Ianto to his feet then turned to look at The Doctor and Rose again.

"If I ever take what I have for granted, please hit me with something."

"It would be my pleasure." The Doctor grinned.

"The old team." Jack said fondly.

"Plus the new team." The Doctor said motioning around them. Jack beamed.

"Well," Jack said beaming, "I guess I have to reintroduce you. Hey guys!" Owen, Gwen, and Tosh trailed over.

"Come over here. I got some facts wrong about the newbies."

"Doctor this is ridiculous!" Rose said crossing her arms. The two of them stood in Jack's office bickering. Jack was beaming. Ianto sat on Jack's desk trying to hide his smile. It had been two weeks since they arrived and The Doctor was still getting used to Torchwood.

"You have to carry a gun!" Rose said holding out the offending item.

"I hate guns. It's bad enough seeing Jack carry one but you too!" The Doctor ranted. Ianto and Jack stifled their laughter.

"Oh don't start. I know you don't like them but you're in Torchwood now, and sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. You're stuck here, you can't just go running off in the TARDIS and expect other people to make sure nothing else goes wrong, you have to enforce your good." Rose looked at him pleadingly. "Take the gun, Doctor"

"No."

"Take. The. Gun."

"No." The Doctor repeated stubbornly.

"Can we finish with the domestic? You fight like an old married couple." Jack said looking between them. The Doctor turned to look at him.

"Like you two don't." He said looking at Jack. Jack glanced at Ianto who decided to look at the ceiling.

"Doctor you need to take a gun." Rose sighed, exasperated "You don't even have a sonic anymore."

"Then I'll make one. Besides it's not a weapon."

"Don't we know it. Mr. 'Looks at a screwdriver and thinks it should be more sonic.'" Jack smirked at them.

"Doctor you're not going into the field without a weapon." Rose looked serious

"Rose, I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me. I'm brilliant, remember?" The Doctor flashed a toothy grin. Rose stared at him for a minute before pulling up the edge of her shirt to reveal a long scar along the left side of her abdomen. The Doctor's smile faded from his face. Jack looked away realizing he was intruding on an intimate moment.

"This is what happens when you don't carry a gun in Torchwood" she said forcefully, "It was supposed to be a routine operation." She continued, softly "Just a simple recon. They told me to bring a gun, just in case it turned violent but I refused. I had been working at Torchwood for about a year then but I'd only been doing field work for a couple of months. I was still trying to fight like you did, with brains rather than violence." She glanced up at the pained look on the Doctor's face. "The aliens turned out to be hostile," she continued "One came up behind me, I turned but I didn't have a weapon and it fired on me. They found me in a pool of blood ten minutes later and said I would have died if they had been a few minutes late. I almost died, Doctor. I know you want to see the world as good, but it isn't always," she sighed, meeting his eyes "Sometimes you have to be able to fight back. You're mortal now, not a god, and I'm not going to lose you, because you're too damn stubborn to carry a gun. You have to take a weapon." she said, her voice strengthening. The Doctor looked at her, not quite sure what to say. He wanted to reach out to her but wasn't sure how she'd react. It had been three months since the metacrisis and they were as much in love as ever but their relationship could still be somewhat tenuous at times. There were so many problems to solve. He still had to convince her he was the same man. He had hoped the non violence would help her see that, but it looked like it had just made her angrier at him. He couldn't carry a gun. Not after Gallifrey. He killed people since then, sure, but never in cold blood the way you do with a gun. He couldn't do it. He couldn't look out over the cold steel barrel and end a life. Not even for Rose.

"I'm not going to carry a gun, Rose, I can't." He spoke softly. Her eyes flashed angrily. "But I promise to have a weapon. Jack," Jack turned back to the Doctor, somewhat unsure what to do about the sudden tension in the room, "you said you have stun-guns. Give me one of those."

"You can only use them in you're right in front of someone. You're going to need something that you can fire." Jack said. The Doctor turned to look at Rose before turning back to Jack.

"Give me five car batteries, two ounces of dubnium, a pistol, and darts that will fit inside it." Jack turned to glance at Rose who looked exasperated.

"How long will it take?"

"Well I also need quarter ounces of thorium, terbium, and neon for my sonic. I also need four one centimeter wide diamonds, an aluminium tube, a small light bulb (preferably a colored lightbulb), and a normal screwdriver and small drill in order to make it."

"Your sonic needs a tube and a colored light bulb?"

"It wasn't made out of fairy dust."

"How long is it going to take?" Jack asked leaning back in his chair.

"Two weeks on the sonic and a week on the stun gun."

"Give Tosh a list and she'll get you the supplies. I think that's everything for today. You guys can go home if you like." Rose walked swiftly out the door. The Doctor stood there for a moment.

"Better run, Doctor," Jack motioned to Rose, "or she'll kick you out of bed."

"We don't-"

"Just follow her." The Doctor looked at Jack for a moment the jogged after Rose.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked walking beside her. She pressed the button for the lift. She stood silently, not answering his question. The lift arrived and they stepped inside.

"Rose I'm sorry I-"

"I'm not mad at you. I'm just…" She sighed, leaning against the side of the lift. "I worry about you." she continued "You could be more careful, y' know."

"I promised to spend my life with you, Rose Tyler. If you want me too." he said seriously. "I plan on keeping that promise."

"Good." She said firmly but he could tell she had relaxed. "You're so stubborn." She said, smiling at him.

"I am not!" He replied indignantly. But he couldn't help smiling when she burst out laughing. "It's weird having Jack in charge of me." he said.

"I think you're experiencing captain envy." She said looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"I am not."

"Yes you are." She sang.

"I just don't like him giving me orders."

"Sorry, Timelord, you don't have a TARDIS, a sonic, or a second heart. You no longer get to control us lowly humans. And because this is your job you actually have a boss." She teased, flicking her hair out of her eyes. He turned and smiled at her. She continued to face the doors of the lift but she looked at him out of the corner of her eye and noticed his loving look. She looked back at the door.

"Rose."

"What?" She turned to smile at him. Her tongue peeking out with her little grin. The smile suddenly made him feel flustered.

"What even are taxes?" He stammered. She rolled her eyes but continued smiling.

"Am I going to have to teach you _everything_ about being a human?"

"Jack said we'll get a 'paycheck' next week. What's a paycheck?"

"How do you not know what a paycheck is!?" Rose laughed at him.

"What?" He shrugged. The doors of the lifted opened up and they stepped out into the fake shop. They walked out the shop and were ambushed by the cold night air. Rose shivered. The Doctor looked at her awkwardly for a moment then put his arm around her. She looked up at him in surprise then started walking toward the hotel.

"Seriously though. What's a paycheck?"

"It's money. You're given a amount of money once a month for the work you do. Seeing as we're new we won't be making as much as everyone else until we start being more useful."

"But I don't need money."

"Yes you do." Rose answered quickly.

"For what?" He asked, stepping up onto the curb and pushing the button for the cross walk.

"Clothes, food, a car, a _house_."

"Clothes? I've got this suit."

"Well seeing as you're not in the TARDIS with it's fancy cleaning system that cleans your clothes just by putting it on. You will have to have more than two outfits. Plus we're going to have to move out of the stupid hotel."

"I like the hotel."

"You're going to need to get a flat or something." She said. He looked down at her.

"Are we going to share one?" He asked awkwardly. She pulled herself out from under his arm and stared at him. He suddenly regretted saying it.

"You… You want to live with me?" She said quietly.

"Um… Yes?" He held his breath.

"Of course we can share one." She beamed at him. He smiled. He leaned forward and kissed her. Her lips pressed softly against his. He wrapped his arms around her waist. They stood there for a moment lit by the street lamps. Rose drew her lips away and smiled, her tongue poking out cutely.

"You know we should probably share a hotel room first." It was an innocent enough statement but the smile she was giving him told him that sleep wasn't exactly what she had in mind.

"We have work tomorrow." The Doctor said awkwardly. He suddenly realized that that didn't seem cool so he smiled, raising his eyebrows at her. Her smile grew.

"Then you better figure out how to buy a condom by friday." She said turning on her heel and walking off. He smiled to himself and followed her back to the hotel.

The Doctor sat at his new desk working on his sonic. He was lining up the diamonds inside the aluminum tubing. Jack smiled. It was weird seeing The Doctor in a new clothes. It was tight blue suit (in a color close to that of the tardis), a grey tie, and white sneakers. Jack scanned his eyes across the room to where Tosh was teaching Rose how to use the computer software. Jack sat in his office as Ianto went through The Doctor's personnel file.

"We're missing some facts on The Doctor. We need his date and place of birth. And he hasn't done his physical yet."

"Place of birth: Gallifrey. No clue the date, probably millennia ago." Ianto picked up a pen and wrote the place of birth in. He looked over at Jack.

"They've been for a month or so and you still haven't really explained who they are." Ianto said closing The Doctor's file.

"I told you. In an alternate reality those two were some of my best friends."

"In an alternate reality? Is that why you couldn't remember them when they first showed up?"

"Yeah. It's strange. I can remember two versions of my life. The second one is a little fuzzy but there was some really painful stuff in it." Ianto's face softened as he looked down at Jack's worried face.

"What happened in that alternate life?" Ianto asked. He sat down on Jack's desk and looked at him sympathetically. Jack took a deep breath.

"I was immortal. Every time I died I would be dragged back into consciousness. Like over broken glass. And the number of people who had died. An infinite number of friends and partners, my dad, and pretty much anyone I had ever cared about. Owen and Tosh they…" Jack trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Ianto looked at Jack sadly.

"How?" Ianto asked.

"It's all wrong and creepy." Jack took a deep breath, "I can see their deaths. It's one of the few things from that life that I can see vividly. Owen was drowned in radiation. He's already dead but it destroyed his body, making him unsavable. Tosh… she was shot. Bleeding to death on the floor trying her best to save the rest of us. God…" Jack's voice turned to a whisper, "I got everyone killed." Jack stared into space as his mind raced with all the death's he had caused. Ianto placed his hand softly on Jack's shoulder. Ianto's touch pulled Jack back to reality. He sniffed and wiped his face. He forced a smile.

"I guess I've got a lot to be grateful for." Jack said looking up at Ianto. Ianto smiled at him affectionately. He leaned down and kissed Jack's forehead.

"I'll get you a cup of coffee." Ianto said standing up and walking from the room. Jack smiled sadly. He had lost so much in that other life and yet somehow he kept going. There was a few things he saved but they just barely made up for the tragedies he caused. He watched Ianto as he made coffee. His eyes drifted away from Ianto and onto Tosh and Rose working on the computers. He continued to survey the room. His eyes scanned across The Doctor working, Gwen typing at her desk, and Owen working with the singularity scalpel. His smile grew. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath trying to shake off the memories from the other reality. Jack smiled blissfully, his eyes only seeing the light through his eyelids. Suddenly that light changed from the soft yellow of the lamps above him to flashing red. An alarm screamed through the room and Jack's eyes snapped open. He jumped up and ran into the main part of the hub.

"What the hell?!" He shouted. Everyone ran over to where Tosh was staring at her computer screen.

"There was rift activity in seven places simultaneously. That many will trigger an alarm. Oddly it seemed to be a delayed reactions because each of them resulting in three deaths, a small cloud of smoke, and this carved into the ground." She turned her screen towards Jack. The words 'Torchwood will be saved' in all caps were carved into concrete.

"I don't know why it only alerted now. The rift activity was about an hour ago." Tosh explain. The Doctor looked over her shoulder.

"What does that mean: 'saved?' Shouldn't that be a good thing?" He asked.

"If it is. We should go introduce ourselves." Jack said smiling dangerously.

"Seven places and seven of us." Tosh said turning to look at Jack.

"Isn't that a bit _too_ convenient?" Rose said, crossing her arms. "And they are clearly trying to get our attention. This can't be good."

"Rose is right." Jack said turning to the team. He thought for a moment.

"Okay, Ianto and Tosh check out those two," Jack said pointing at two of the sites on the screen, "Gwen and Owen take those two, and Rose and I will take those two. Doctor you pretty much always know what you're doing so you get your own." Everyone nodded. "Go." Jack ordered.

Jack pulled the SUV up in front of a parking lot. He and Rose got out and walked toward the site. Rose bent down and looked at the words.

"The words are lined with tar. It was burnt into the ground. They melted the asphalt." She said as she examined the letters.

"That was probably the cloud of smoke. Let's check out the deaths." Jack said. They walked across the parking lot toward the police officers collecting the bodies.

"What've we got?" Rose asked walking up.

"Who are you?"

"Torchwood. Now who are the victims?"

"Clara Shannon, Max Day, and Jesse Coleman."

"Shit…" Jack muttered to himself.

"Who are they Jack?" Rose asked. He ran his hand through his hair.

"Max Day: number one suspect in a case Torchwood had a while. It wasn't his fault but we still locked him up for a while. Jesse Coleman: ex-cop who helped Torchwood when weevils started attacking police officers. Clara Shannon: worked at the Pharm. These are all people who interacted with Torchwood." He explain.

"Well," Rose said, "They are clearly trying to get our attention. Tell me," she turned to one of the police officers, "did they say anything to their families? Why were they out?"

"Coleman was on the way to the pub, Shannon left her house to get milk according to her boyfriend, and Day was sitting at home. They all left their houses for normal reasons. Apparently they all just walked here."

"Max lives across town doesn't he? Seems unrealistic that he walked."

"There are no cars, no bus tickets, no taxi receipts, and no bikes. There's no other way they could have got here unless somebody randomly gave them a ride."

"It would have taken him quite a while. Unless," Jack looked at the body, "they didn't end up here on accident." He leaned over and pressed his fingers under Max's jawbone.

"Jack he's dead. There's no reason to take a pulse." Rose said looking confused.

"That's not what I'm doing." Jack ran his fingers along his jawbone.

"There! Rose give me your hand." She put her hand out and Jack placed her fingers against Max's throat. She felt a buzzing just beneath the skin.

"Feel it?"

"Yeah. What is that? Is there something inside him?"

"No it's a result of certain types of teleports." Jack explain, "It lasts for a couple hours and makes you all itchy but at least it's not as bad as time travel without a capsule. That's a killer."

"So he was teleported here?"

"Yep. I'm gonna call the rest of the team. Tell them what's up." He picked up his phone and dialed The Doctor's number.

"Jack?" The Doctor's voice ran through the phone.

"Yeah, so the bodies here are all people Torchwood has interacted with and they were teleported here. You got anything?"

"The words were melted into the ground-"

"Yes I know Einstein thanks."

"You didn't let me finish! They were melted into the ground with earth tech."

"No earth tech could do that. Not that quickly or cleanly." Jack said skeptically.

"Not from this time period. Remember home Jack? What did you guys use for carving?" Jack cursed under his breath.

"Precision blades? Shit."

"Expecting a visit from the family?"

"Let's hope not. I'd prefer to fight aliens then my mother." The Doctor snickered.

"Jack, we've got fifty first century humans killing people who knew Torchwood."

"Well this should be fun." Jack muttered.

"Yeah, you and Rose should-" Suddenly The Doctor yelled and was cut off.

"Doctor?" Jack asked. He heard The Doctor shout again and a loud thump. "Doctor!" He yelled into the phone. All Jack heard was scraping on the other end. Rose spun around to look at Jack.  
"What's happening?" She asked, noticing the fear on Jack's face.

"Doctor, are you okay?" Jack repeated.

"Hello darling." A voice rang through the phone.

"Who is this?" Jack asked.

"Five years together and you can't recognise my voice?"

"John? What the fuck are you doing here?" Jack asked, angrily. The last thing he wanted to see was Captain John Hart.

"I've missed you too darling."

"Missed you? Ha!" Jack laughed darkly, "Last time I saw you, you tried to push me off a building. And to make it worse _I_ had to save _you_ and detach that bomb from your sorry ass. Why are you here?" Jack asked angrily.  
"I'm here to see you." John said with sarcastic sweetness.

"What are you doing here?" Jack repeated.

"I tolds some old friends where you've been hiding. You still owe them a debt."

"Who do I owe a debt to?" Jack scoffed. John smiled and looked down at The Doctor lying unconscious on the ground.

"Who's this one?"

"What?" Jack asked.

"He's new to The Bikini Cops. He's pretty isn't he? What, did Eye Candy dump you?"

"You wish." Jack grumbled.

"Jack what's going on?" Rose asked.

"You're right. I do wish. But I've brought some old friends. You stole a ship from us."

"You said the Time Agency fell apart." Jack said. John scoffed.

"We did. That doesn't mean they don't still carry a grudge. They would really like to see you dead."

"Exactly seven?"

"I told you last time. There's only seven of us left and turns out they _really_ hate you. One of for every member of Torchwood. I saw that your little group expanded."

"Well sorry, _darling,_ " Jack smiled angrily, "we're not that stupid. We went in teams of two."

"But not this one." John said, poking The Doctor with his foot, "He must be special. I'm glad I found him. Besides we went in teams too."

"You said there was seven of you. Who?" Jack asked, changing the subject away from The Doctor.

"Me, Natasha, Ginny, Mycroft, Zelda, Castiel, and Cecil."

"Well it's nice to know that they remember me." Jack said. Rose walked over to him.

"Jack tell me what's going on." Rose demanded. Jack shushed her.

"Now you can guess what's going to happen." John said, "We're going to hunt down your pretty little team and pick them off one by one until you give yourself up. Oh," John gave a sadistic laugh, "and I'm starting with Eye Candy." John hung up. Jack swore loudly and shoved his phone back in his pocket. He turned to look at Rose.

"They've captured The Doctor." He said.

"Who did?" Rose asked, clenching her fists.

"The Time Agency. They're gonna hunt us down." He took a deep breath. "I gotta call Ianto."

Tosh stood, talking to the police officers as Ianto kneeled down to look at the letters burnt in the ground. Ianto's phone rang. He looked down at the caller ID.

"Yeah?"

"Ianto!" Jack shouted. Ianto held the phone away from his face.

"Oi. I need these eardrums." He grumbled. Jack took a deep breath.

"Sorry. Sorry. Okay, listen, it's Time Agents."

"What?" Ianto said standing up. Tosh looked over at him.

"Seven ex-Time Agents, including John." Jack explained "They're going to pick us off one by one until I turn myself in."

"Fuck." Ianto swore under his breath.

"And… they're gonna start with you." Jack said quietly.

"John's idea?" Ianto asked, remembering that jealous asshole. "Alright." Ianto took a deep breath.

"Be careful." Jack said as Ianto hung up. He waved Tosh over to him.

"What's happening?" She asked, following him toward her car.

"Seven Time Agents, including John."

"Crap." Tosh said nervously.

"We have to split up. They're going for me first. Go find Gwen and Owen."

"I can't leave you. What if-"

"No." Ianto said firmly, "They want to pick us off one by one, right? Having one target will stall them for a while. And if this is John... I'm the first one he's going for. I can stall for time."

"Ianto-"

"Go find Gwen and Owen." He repeated. Tosh looked at him for a second.

"Okay. You take the car." She said walking off. He took a deep breath to settle his nerves and walked to the car.

_The Doctor groaned and opened his eyes. John glanced into the back seat to watch him as he sat up. His hands and feet were tied together. He looked over at the woman sitting beside him. She wore a long gown, had pointed ears, and stared straight ahead. John and a ginger woman sat in the front seat.

"Zelda," John asked over his shoulder, "how's our guest?"

"He's awake." She replied, watching The Doctor sit up.

"You must be one of our fifty first century visitors." The Doctor said looking at the back of John's head.

"And you must be new to Torchwood." John replied.

"So you're the ones here to save us." The Doctor frowned as he looked out the window. He had no clue where they were.

"We just wanted your attention. We're here visiting. How's Jack doing?" John asked sarcastically.

"Currently he's probably really pissed off."

"I mean in general." John's sarcasm faltered and The Doctor noticed his earnest voice. The ginger woman looked at John angrily.

"Stay focused, Hart." She whispered dangerously. John glared at her.

"Fuck off, Ginny. I'm in charge." The Doctor watched them for a moment then looked at the woman sitting next to him.

"You're from Hyrule, aren't you." She turned her head slowly to glare at him. He looked away from her.

"Where are we going?" He asked, to John.

"Why would I tell you?" John replied.

"Because villains are desperate to look smart. You want to tell me why you're smart." The Doctor said cockily. John smiled as he brought the car to a halt outside a warehouse. Ginny, John, and Zelda got out of the car. John walked around and opened The Doctor's car door.

"Then maybe I'm not a villain." John said smiling at The Doctor. He motioned to Ginny. She pulled a wand out of her sleeve and flicked it, knocking The Doctor unconscious again.

Tosh knocked on the car window. Owen rolled it down.. They were idling in front of the Seven Eleven Tosh where had asked them to meet her.

"Did Jack call you yet?" She asked.

"Yeah. What are you doing here?" Owen asked.

"Me and Ianto had to split up. He's the next target. What did Jack tell you?" She asked climbing in the back seat.

"Seven Time Agents, including John, they're trying to kill Jack. If Jack doesn't turn himself in they'll hunt us down one by one. He said to stay away from the hub in case they find it and to watch out for John. He said once you _and Ianto_ found us we should go meet him."

"Ianto wouldn't let me go with him. He said it was too dangerous"

"Well then, I'm looking forward to the little protective boyfriend show Jack's going to put on aren't you?" Owen said sarcastically to Gwen. She looked at him blankly. Tosh cleared her throat.

"We'd better hurry up."

"Yeah." Owen said starting the car.

Ianto ducked behind a pub and leaned against the wall. He had been forced to ditch the car when he noticed the big black car that had been following him. He watched as the car drove past. He took a deep breath and brushed off his coat. He walked down the alley when he heard a car behind him. The black car was pulling into the alley. Ianto stared at it for a moment then sprinted down the alley. The car sped up. Ianto dodged out of the alley and into a small walkway that a car wouldn't be able to squeeze into. He slowed to a jog. Then a man stepped in front of him, blocking the exit to the walking way. He wore a suit, was carrying an umbrella, and stared with a completely deadpan face. Ianto pulled out a gun and pointed it at the man in front of him. The black car pulled up alongside the mouth of walkway, making it impossible to get out of. A young blonde man with a vest, purple tattoos on his arms, and an eye tattooed on his forehead stepped out of the car and pointed a gun at Ianto's back.

"Drop the gun Mr. Jones." The man with the umbrella said walking toward him. The young blonde man pressed his gun against Ianto's back. After a moment Ianto tossed his gun to the ground.

"Cecil," the man pointed his umbrella at the younger guy, "take him with us." Cecil handcuffed Ianto. Ianto glared at the man in front of him as a bag was shoved over his head.

Jack stood, arms crossed and grumbling, in the parking lot of warehouse. Rose stood slightly behind him silently. She stood with stoic determination. Fear of losing The Doctor didn't seem to stop her. It just made her driven as hell. Jack glanced at Rose. He was worried both for The Doctor and her. He had never seen her so dark.

"Are you okay?" He asked turning to look at her. She turned to look at him and her face softened.

"I'm scared."

"I gathered that. But are you okay?" He stepped toward her.

"Like I said: I'm scared. You said that Captain John was dangerous. What if he does something to him."

"He's going to be _fine._ He's The Doctor."

"He's human."

"But he's still The Doctor. He will be fine. Don't worry, we'll get him back." Jack assured her.

"We'll get him back, and if he's not in one piece I'll kick your ass for sending him off alone."

"Yes ma'am." Jack nodded, knowing that if The Doctor was lost he'd be in worse shape than he had ever been in before. Owen's car pulled up and the three of them got out. Jack watched as each door closed and his face darkened.

"Where's Ianto?" He asked. Owen and Gwen side stepped so that Jack's anger was centered on Tosh.

"He refused to let me go with him. He said that he would endanger us and that he should go alone."

"God damn it. Why the fuck does he have to be so stupidly heroic?" Jack growled in frustration. He turned to look at Rose, their face mirroring each others fear and determination. Jack pulled out his phone and called Ianto. It rang over and over again, each ring making Jack more and more anxious.

"This is Ianto Jones' personal mobile. I can't come to the phone right now but if you leave a message I'll get back to you." Jack swore under his breath.

"Leave your message at the tone." A woman's mechanical voice told him. "When you're finished recording hang up or press one for more options." There was quiet beep.

"Ianto pick up the damn phone! Don't do anything heroic and call me back. You're safer with us." Jack hung up his phone and stared down at it.

"He's probably fine." Rose assured Jack.

"Ianto _always_ picks up his phone."

"No one _always_ picks up their phone, Jack." Rose said, trying to comfort him. "He's probably not paying attention to it. He's trying to hide, remember?"

"Wait," Tosh said pulling out her phone and typing frantically "John called you from The Doctor's number right?"

"Yeah…"

"Then if I track his phone it'll lead us straight to John. What's The Doctor's number?"

"827-3471. He rigged his phone number to be TARDIS 1."

"Of course he did." Jack muttered. Tosh stood working for a moment when Jack's phone rang. He checked the caller ID.

"Ianto?" Jack asked picking up his phone.

"Guess again."

"John, you son of a bitch!" Jack shouted into his phone. "Where's Ianto?" The team turned to look at Jack.

"Eye Candy and the new guy and coming with me. Turn yourself in Jack. Or I shoot them."

"Where? Where do I turn myself in." Jack asked.

"You're not stupid Jack. Track the phone." John hung up. Jack chucked his phone across the parking lot in frustration. Tosh stared at him.

"Where are they?" He demanded.

"In a warehouse just outside of Cardiff. What are we going to do?" She asked.

"Easiest would be to give myself up but I'm not in the mood to die. So I'd prefer a different plan. Any suggestions?"

"Guns blazing." Owen said smiling. Jack rolled his eyes.

"That's a stupid suggestion. Besides, you get shot and you'll have another bullet hole in your chest for the rest of forever. Anyone else?"

"I've got an idea." Rose said smiling darkly.

"Move!" Rose shoved Jack through the door of the warehouse. His face was bruised and his hands were handcuffed together.

"Rose, stop this! We can save them another-"

"Shut up!" She snapped, pressing her gun against his head as she pushed him inside.

"Captain John! I brought you a gift." She said as she knocked Jack to the floor. She looked over as John walked gracefully down a metal staircase.

"Ooh, Bikini Cops finally got a blonde. Thank you for bringing him, sweets." John said walking toward her. She pointed her gun at John.

"Give me The Doctor and Ianto first." John nodded. He waved a Zelda and Cecil toward him.

"Fine. Give gorgeous over there her boys back." Cecil walked over to under the staircase and pulled Ianto and The Doctor out from under it. Both had bags over their heads and ropes holding their wrists together.

"I have a question first." John said looking at Rose skeptically. She raised her eyebrows.

"Ask away."

"Where's the rest of the team?"

"They're a bit tied up right now."

"Meaning?" John asked sassily. Rose scoffed.

"Meaning they didn't want me to turn Jack in so I _tied them up_. Now give me the hostages."

"Of course." John agreed, admiring Rose's guts, "Here's how it works. They point their weapons at them and you point your gun at him and if either group of hostages do anything stupid we shoot. Deal?"

"Deal." Rose said, nodding.

"Rose! What are you doing!?" The Doctor yelled through the bag on his head.

"Get up, Jack. We have a trade to make."

"Rose, please don't." Jack pleaded.

"The needs of the many outway the needs of the few. Give up one life to save two. Now get up." She dragged Jack up by his collar. She turned him around and pointed her gun at the back of his head. Cecil pointed his gun at the back of Ianto's head as Zelda pointed a bow and arrow at The Doctors back.

"Walk." Rose said darkly. He shuffled forward as The Doctor and Ianto were shoved toward Rose.

"Jack?" Ianto asked. Jack looked at him but didn't respond. John smirked as Jack approached. Rose grabbed The Doctor and Ianto as they reached her. She pulled out a knife and cut off Ianto ropes. She handed him the knife and he pulled off the bag on his head and started slicing through The Doctor's ropes. She continued to point her gun at Jack. Jack slowly walked towards John. He glared at John with a look like he was picturing how to bury him. John smiled at him.

"Hello honey." He said, as Jack reached him. Suddenly Jack lunged and wrapped his handcuffs around John's throat. Rose shot Cecil between the eyes. She turned her gun on Zelda and shot her in the chest. They crumpled to the floor. Jack dragged John through the door of the warehouse by the neck. Across the room a door crashed open. The man with the umbrella and a man with a dirty trench coat burst in.

"Castiel!" John yelled to him. Castiel pointed his hand toward Zelda and she stood up. She smiled and turned herself into a blonde man in a blue suit then disappeared into thin air. There was a thump behind them as he reappeared.

"The knife!" Jack yelled. Ianto flipped the silver blade in his hand and swung at the young man, who dodged as he produced a long chain. He snapped it at Ianto and sent him stumbling back holding his chest. Ianto regained his balance and stood up, stabbing at the man and leaving a large wound in his arm. Turning back into her female self, Zelda stumbled out of the way as Rose, Ianto, and The Doctor ran out. Jack followed them out, still dragging John by his neck. Owen and Tosh pulled up in the SUV and they all climbed inside. Zelda followed them outside and produced her bow again. She fired at them as they drove off.

"Mycroft…" Castiel said walking up behind him. Mycroft turned to glare at him.

"You didn't do your job."

"I was busy saving Cecil." Castiel said as Cecil walked up behind him.

"I don't care. What I do care about is the fact that you didn't do your job. Your were suppose to kill them."

"They had an archangel's blade. If Zelda had died I could revive her. If I died we'd all be dead for good." Castiel reminded him. Mycroft turned away from Castiel and watched the SUV drive off.

"I want them dead."

Jack dragged John inside and opened a cell. John smiled seductively at him as Jack took his vortex manipulator.

"You want mine because it's bigger don't you?" John teased. Jack shoved it in his pocket and kicked John into the cell, sending him toppling to the floor. John sat up and smiled flirtatiously at Jack. Jack glared back.

"Good job. Killing Cecil and Zelda." John said. "Except they're not dead for long. Your weapons are useless as long as we have an angel. Your team can die and mine can't. Mycroft was always a brilliant mind, Cecil's generally useful, and the other three are living weapons."

"Cas was a nice guy. I doubt he actually wants to kill me." Jack said, looking down on John.

"You ditched the Time Agency, stole a ship, ripped off a bunch of Time Agents, and was just generally an asshole. Not to mention your little friends tried to kill Zelda and Cecil."

"That wasn't my idea."

"He doesn't know that. He doesn't like it when people hurt his humans." Jack smiled at John for a moment before turning and walking out of the vault. When he walked into the main room Gwen approached him.

"So what are they? Not all of them are human, right?" She asked.

"Yeah. Hey guys!" Jack shouted. Everyone turned to look at him. He waved them to the meeting room. Everyone sat down as he opened a laptop and pulling a picture up on the main screen.

"I need to give you some advice on how to fight them. This is Zelda." He said pulling up a photo of the pointy eared girl in the gown. "She's an alien. She switches from looking like this to being a guy in a blue suit which she uses for fighting." Jack clicked and a picture of Shiek popped up. "I don't know her planet, she was always very secretive about that, but she's a princess of Hyrule. We fought her already and she can killed like any human."

"Wait a minute," Gwen said looking at the picture, "are these pictures _you_ took?"

"All of them were friends of mine at one point." He said with the deadpan face he used to cover up sadness. Jack clicked again and pulled up a picture of the freckled ginger woman.

"This is Ginny Potter. She's from another galaxy. There is actually numerous copies of earth out there. She's from a version where magic is real. Only a select few have it but it and all sorts of other mythical things are real. Her wand can produce pretty much any spell. If you want to take her down you have to shoot before she sees you or take out her wand."

"She has a wand?" Owen snickered.

"Yeah and she can stun your ass and throw you off a cliff if she liked so she's not producing rabbits out of hats. That shit is dangerous. She is an excellent witch. Now this is Cecil Palmer." Jack clicked and a picture of the young blonde man. "Cecil is from the same galaxy. He's also human. His only special power is that third eye, even though it looks a bit like a doodle it's actually real. He can see you even if his eyes are closed and that third eye helps him aim. He's a perfect shot. He literally cannot miss. But," Jack continued, "he might be persuaded to our side. He used to have a crush on me." Ianto crossed his arms. Jack pulled up another picture.

"Mycroft is the guy with the umbrella. Him and Natasha are from yet another reality. There are quite a few. In their reality book characters are real, we're books, and there's another one that's TV. Mycroft is the older brother of Sherlock Holmes and is equally smart. He's not a fighter but he's a good leader and he'll be in charge now that we're taken John." Jack pulled up the next picture. A curvy red headed woman in a tight black suit appeared on the screen. Owen leaded forward.

"Hold up. I feel like I've seen her before."

"Comic book fan are we? This is Natasha. You haven't met her yet but when you do you'll be in big trouble. Her full name is Natasha Romanoff she's an-."

"Natasha Romanoff?" Owen asked his jaw hanging open.

"Yes."

"Crap. Really?"

"Yes." Jack repeated. Owen took a nervous breath.

"She's a comic book character?" Ianto asked.

"Marvel comic. Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow. Russian assassin and member of the Avengers. She can kill you with just her thighs. She's human but she'll be super hard to kill." Everyone stared at her picture.

"We're going to be fighting an Avenger? I've seen the movies. They're good guys." Gwen said looking confused.

"You remember her line about 'red in her ledger?' Well the Natasha you're about to meet is during that point in time. She hasn't joined the Avengers yet so she's still an assassin. Lastly there is Castiel." Jack pulled up a picture of the guy in the tan trenchcoat. Tosh, Gwen, and Rose all raised their eyebrows. None of them had gotten to see his face and it was _gorgeous._

"He's from another galaxy where God is real. And I don't mean in a religious way I mean real like a physically real person. In their galaxy myths and monsters are real. Werewolves, demons, vampires, you name it. Castiel is an Angel of the Lord. He's the most dangerous but also the most likely to change sides. He's a good person but if he is truly on their side he's the hardest to kill of all of them. Ianto do you still have that knife Rose gave you?"Jack turned to look at him.

"Yeah." Ianto pulled the silver blade out of his coat. He put it on the table.

"That knife," Jack continued, "is the only thing that can kill him. That's it. That knife can kill anything."

"Then why don't we use it all the time?" Gwen asked picking it up off the table to look at it closer.

"Imagine if a dangerous alien got hold of a blade that can kill anything." Jack looked at her. Gwen placed it on the table again, suddenly nervous. "Now," Jack continued, "Castiel has tons of powers. He can teleport, blind you, bring people back to life, heal any wound, kill you with just one touch, and (depending on where he is in his time stream) he may be able to call a team of angelic dicks to fight with him. Be careful. We cannot lose that blade. It's an archangel's blade and their super rare. Cas will be carrying one too so, if you can, try to snag his. Actually… on second though avoid him until I get a chance to talk to him."

"So do we just wait for them to find us?" Rose asked. Jack thought for a second.

"No." He said, "Ianto take the blade. You guys get anything together that you think may help in a fight. Ianto and I will go talk to Castiel." Ianto picked the blade up off the table and followed Jack out of the room.

"Won't their team notice if he picks up a phone then disappears?" Ianto asked as he followed Jack out to the car.

"He won't be picking up a phone." Jack said getting in the SUV. Ianto looked at him for a moment. He hated when Jack was vague. He rolled his eyes and got in the SUV.

"Where are we going?" Ianto asked.

"We have to get far enough away from the hub so he can't follow us." They drove for a couple more minutes then Jack parked the car in an abandoned lot. The two of them climbed out of the car and walked to the center of the lot.

"How are we-" Jack shushed Ianto and closed his eyes.

"I pray to Castiel for a minute to talk to him. I don't want to fight you Cas. Just come and talk to me." Jack opened his eyes.

"Did you just _pray to him?"_ Ianto asked, smirking.

"Do I have to say Amen or something." Jack asked looking around. There was a quiet flapping noise.

"Very funny." The angel said gruffly from behind Ianto. The two of them spun around to look at him. His hair was messed up and his tie was on backward. He stared at Jack blankly.

"Why do you want to kill me, Cas? I never did anything to any of you."

"You destroyed the Time Agency."

"I didn't mean too. It's just had to get out. They stole my memorise, Cas. I couldn't just sit around and-"

"I know." Cas said, cutting him off. His deadpan face faltered into sympathy. "My whole life gets wiped whenever the angels think I'm… Well, the point is: I understand how you feel."

"Then why are you fighting me?" Jack asked.

"We're not all here to kill you. I just wanted to find you. Ginny, Mycroft, Zelda, and John want revenge. But Cecil, Natasha, and I just wanted to find you."

"Natasha doesn't want to kill me? I thought she'd be first in line."

"Natasha is good at forgiving." Castiel said simply. Jack smiled.

"So are you guys going to join our side?" He asked.  
"Under one condition." Castiel said, "You have to give me the angel blade."

"What?" Jack asked.

"The one in Ianto Jones' coat." Castiel clarified.

"Ianto." Jack waved to him. Ianto looked at Jack for a moment then pulled it out of his coat's inside pocket, and handed the blade to Castiel. Jack looked at Castiel for a moment.

"Cas… thank you." Castiel smiled slightly.

"I'll get the other two. Give me a second." Castiel disappeared. Jack turned to look at Ianto. Ianto stared back.

"What?" Jack asked noticing Ianto's face.

"Can we trust him?"

"He could have turned us to ash back in that warehouse. But he chose not to. I trust him." There was a flapping noise and Jack turned to look at Cas, Natasha, and Cecil. Natasha smiled at them. Cecil walked forward and punched Jack hard, in the shoulder.

"Ow. What the hell?"

"That's for letting her shoot me." He said flexing his hand. Jack broke into a grin. Ianto stood, arms crossed, looking at Cecil.

"Having a bag shoved over my head wasn't fun either." He said. Everyone turned to look at him.

"Sorry about that. Wasn't my idea." Cecil said guiltily. Ianto nodded to tell Cecil that it was okay.

" _You_ must be the one John calls Eye Candy." Natasha said, smiling at Ianto. Ianto noticed that all three of them had American accents.

"Ianto Jones." Ianto stuck out his hand. She shook it as she looked him up and down.

"Charmed. Natasha Romanoff."

"Natasha," Jack said as she turned her attention back to him, "where were you earlier?"

"Working on John's plan."

"And that would be?" Jack asked. Natasha tossed some hair out of her eyes.  
"Ianto Jones, turn out your pockets." Natasha said. Ianto looked at her for a moment then turned out his pockets. A small disk the size of a button dropped into his hand. It barely had any weight. There was no way of noticing it.

"Shit." He muttered. He handed it to Jack. Jack turned it in his fingers.

"It's a bomb." Jack said with interest. "Huh."

"Then shouldn't we be getting rid of it? How much time does it have?" Ianto asked looking at it.

"Nah. It's not triggered by a clock. It's triggered by a word. John's plan is to say the word in an ordinary sentence so we don't know when to stop him."

"So we should get rid of it." Natasha said looking at Jack. He smiled out of the corner of his mouth.

"I can guess any password and cue word he could ever come up with."

"Then he would have picked one he thought you'd never guess." Natasha said.

"That's why I know exactly which one it is." Jack flipped it in his hand. "There's gonna be one in The Doctor's pocket too." He flipped open his phone and dialed Rose.

"Jack? Is whatshisname on our team?" She asked.

"Yeah. Now, Rose, don't say a word. There's a small button sized bomb in The Doctor's pocket. Take the bomb, put it in a box, and lock it up. Send it to the bottom of the safe and don't say a word until it's down there. Signal to me that you understood that without saying any words."

"Uh-huh." Rose replied.

"Good we'll be there soon." Jack shoved his phone back in his pocket and looked down at the bomb.

"So the word… Can you give us a clue?" Cecil asked.

"Um…." Jack tried to think of a clue for it, "Okay, old movie reference. There's a famou movie from the sixties set in World War Two. The title of the movie is: _The Great_ blank _._ Do not say the last word of the title or any synonyms for it." Ianto, Cecil, and Natasha all nodded, knowing the name.

"The great…?" Castiel asked.

"I forget, you're not good at culture references. Um…" Jack pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket, "anyone got a pen?" Cecil pulled one out of his vest pocket. Jack put the paper on his thigh as he covered it in odd symbols.

"Can't you write it so we can all read it?" Ianto asked looking over his shoulder.

"Nah. It's scanning everything around it. But it can't read Enochian or Circular Gallifreyan. Both are untranslatable."

"Then why can you write in them?" Ianto asked.

"I've had good tutors." He handed the paper to Castiel. He nodded.

"No synonyms for it either. Natasha," he turned to her, "what was John's plan. You weren't there slipping bombs in their pockets."

"No I wasn't. I was planting four bombs under the streets of Cardiff. The bombs in your pockets aren't that powerful. They'd kill a ten foot radius but their point isn't to kill you. They go off very specifically. They're not technically bombs. They shoot down and up. It's a disk for a reason. If it went off in your pocket it would take your legs with it. They're main point is to cause a seismic disturbance to set off the bombs under the city."

"And you set these up?" Jack said horrified.

"Yeah. But I changed something. Instead of going off as soon as they get hit, I added a timer. After they get hit there is fifteen minutes before they go off. It's not as much time as I wish I could give you but it will give us time to disarm them." She explained. Jack nodded.

"Now, we gotta get back to the hub. Mycroft and his gang will realize that you guys ditched soon." Jack waved everyone toward the car. Castiel cocked his head to the side. Jack stared at him with irritation.

"Just get in the car." Castiel opened his mouth to object then shut it and disappeared.

"Oh lovely." Jack turned back towards the car. Castiel was sitting in the back seat.

"I'm not a fan of cars. They put smog in the air." He said absentmindedly. Everyone else climbed in the car and Jack hit the gas pedal.

The door clanged as the five of them entered the hub. Rose poked her head around her computer screen. She stood up and walked over to Jack.

"They're on our team." Jack assured her. She looked over at Cecil.

"Sorry about shooting you." She said awkwardly. Cecil looked at her for a moment.

"It hurt like hell but I'll be okay." He said nodding to her.

"Jack, what was with the thing in The Doctor's pocket? I'm guessing it's a bomb."

"It is. And a powerful one." Jack said. "Now we need to-"

"If it goes off" Rose cut him off. "how long will we have to es-" Jack cover her mouth. He put a finger to his lips as she glared at him.

"Shh." He said, still pressing his hand over her mouth. Rose continued to glare. Then she stuck out her tongue and licked his hand.

"Ew." Jack said pulling his hand away from her mouth. He wiped it on his trousers.

"What the hell was that about?" She asked wiping off her mouth.

"Guys!" He yelled across the hub. The rest of the team walked over, looking at Castiel, Natasha, and Cecil suspiciously.

"It's alright. They're on our team. Now those bombs are triggered by a word. The one the were about to say, Rose."

"What word?" Tosh asked.

"There's a sixties movie about World War One called _The Great_ dot dot dot You can't say the last word of the title or any synonyms." Everyone nodded. "Okay," Jack continued, "there are four bombs under the streets. Natasha, teach The Doctor and Tosh how disable them. They learn the fastest. Cecil, Rose, Owen, and Ianto get some weapons together. Castiel… uh…. stand around and look pretty. I don't know. Find something to do. Gwen, lets go poke a hornets nest." He smirked at her. She nodded and they walked toward the vaults.

Jack and Gwen walked over to John's cell. He was laying on his back, smiling dangerously. He sat up and smiled at the pair of them.

"Can I help you with something?" He asked, smirking at them from his spot on the floor.

"Castiel is going to make sure your team lives to kill us right?" Jack asked.

"Of course."

"Why does he want to kill me? We we're friends."

"We were all friends Jack. You betrayed us."

"By quitting? People quit all the time."

"Oh but you don't remember. They took those years from you." John said lying down again. There was silence as Jack took in what John had just said.

"What did you say?" He whispered.

"I said that you didn't remember because they took those two years away from you." John teased.

"What?" Jack slammed his hands into the plastic walls separating them. John stared at the ceiling with sadistic pride. Gwen placed her hand on Jack's shoulder and tried to pull him back. He shook her off.

"What happened!?" Jack demanded.

"Would you like to know?" John asked, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yes."

"Are you sure? Really sure?" John sat up and looked at Jack seriously. "They took it from you for a reason."

"Yes. I'm sure." Jack glared at John. He stood up and brushed off his coat.

"Let me out." He said, smiling darkly.

"No." Jack sneered. John shrugged and sat down.

"I guess you don't want to learn then."

"You little shit. Gwen open the cell."

"Ja-" She protested. He glared at her. She stared at him for a moment then opened the cell. John strutted out, grinning devilishly.

"Talk to me." Jack said crossing his arms.

"Give me my vortex manipulator first."

"Why on earth would I do that?"  
"It's insurance that if you go back to your old ways after learning about what they were, I don't die."

"No."

"Then you'll never know, will you?" John smirked, cruelly.

"You're sick." Jack said handing him his vortex manipulator. "Now talk."

"To make a long story short," John said leaning against his cell "you got captured and experimented on by aliens. It turned you insane. You murdered fifteen random civilians, Zelda, Mycroft's brother, Bones, and Simon (Bones and Simon ran the Time Agency at the time)." he explained, looking at Gwen, "You broke Ginny's arm too. Everyone in the Time Agency ended up safe but you can see why they're pissed off. The civilians didn't survive because you _incinerated_ them. We spent a whole year trying to fix you. You spent a whole year in a straight jacket, Jack, just babbling about fire. You said you wanted to burn everything down. That was all you ever said. You'd just repeat that. And laugh." John stopped and stared at Jack. Gwen analyzed his face, looking for a sign he was lying. But he clearly meant what he said. She could see the pain behind his eyes. John had had watch the love of his life babbling about death with no way to save him. She almost pitied him. Almost.

"Jack-" She started.

" Eventually," John started again, "to save you Simon suggested taking the two years away from you to see if it would make you sane again. It worked but as soon as you found out they were gone you left." John smiled at the horror on Jack's face.

"Bullshit." Jack said swallowing. "There's no way." He put on a brave face, turning to go. Gwen followed him toward the door. There was a quiet beep.

"Captain's log: Hart, John. Date: May 11th, 5024." Jack turned around. John held his vortex manipulator up, playing a recording of his own voice. "Captain Jack Harkness went missing while escorting Princess Soola of Woman-wept to the intergalactic conference. Neither arrived. It has been two weeks," John's voice cracked, he was clearly fighting back tears as he made the recording, "we will conduct a search party if he does not arrive by friday. Hart, out." The recording stopped.

"So I went missing, big deal." Jack said, forcing himself to believe what he wanted to. John's smile grew. He pressed some buttons and a new recording started.

"Captain's log: Hart, John. Date May 20th, 5024. We've finally found Jack on the planet Vastra 12. He's in critical condition and we can't contact Castiel. Zelda, Ginny, and I are transporting him back to Earth via ship. We can't risk traveling without a capsule. Ginny has used magic to heal the surface wounds but she doesn't have enough medical training to help him more. Hart, out."

"I would never kill harmless people."

"You think?"

"Captain's log: Hart, John. Date June 2, 5024. Cas says that Jack has gone insane and he doesn't know how to fix him." John's voice cracked, "We have him sedated but Cas isn't sure if he'll ever be sane. While bringing him here he broke Ginny's arm and smashed in Zelda's skull. They're both fine but Jack is currently wearing a straightjacket. We just found out about an explosion on the planet he was captured on, apparently someone fitting Jack's description blew up a building, killing fifteen. We aren't sure whether or not is was Jack. Hart, out." Jack turned quiet. He would never.

"This is bullshit." Jack snatched John's vortex manipulator and threw it across the room. John tipped his head and smiled at Jack.

"Always such a temper." He cooed. Gwen looked between them, terrified. Jack grabbed John by the front of the coat and threw him back into the cell. John hit the ground hard and giggled breathlessly. Jack slammed the door closed and stormed out. John turned to Gwen.

"I told you once that it made sense you didn't trust me what with the boss you have. That year and that temper is why I said that." He smiled. Gwen glared at John's satisfied smirk then chased after Jack. Jack leaned on the wall and stared at the floor.

"Jack?" Gwen asked, gingerly placing her hand on his shoulder. Jack's shoulders began to shake. He pushed her away and walked off. The team didn't notice as he marched past them toward his office, his face wet and shining. Gwen tapped Ianto's shoulder and pointed to Jack's office, where Jack was sitting with his head in his hands. Ianto followed Jack into his office.

"Jack?" He asked quietly. Jack looked up at him and wiped his face.

"Fine. I'm," he took a deep breath, "fine." Ianto walked over to him and sat on his desk.

"Is fine a synonym of devastated now?" He asked kindly. Jack closed his eyes.

"Yeah." He answered quietly. He stood up and Ianto hugged him. Jack buried his face in Ianto's shoulder.

"Do want to tell me what happened?" Ianto asked. Jack let go of Ianto and shook his head.

"Not really." He said, honestly. Ianto nodded.

"Okay." He smiled sympathetically, placing his hand on Jack's cheek. Jack smiled sadly. Ianto took his hand away from Jack's cheek and looked at him lovingly.

"Can I shoot John now?" He joked. Jack laughed quietly.

"Later." Jack said smiling at Ianto.

"Promise?" Ianto said, reaching out to straighten Jack's collar.

"Promise." Jack said, watching Ianto's concentration on Jack's collar. Ianto let go of him and straightened his own tie. He gave Jack a light peck on the cheek then turned towards the door.

"Let's find out if they've gotten anywhere on the bombs yet."

Jack lead everyone out of Torchwood. They stood in the fake shop that Torchwood was hidden under. Jack handed Tosh, Owen, and The Doctor instructions Natasha had made.

"Okay. Cas take Tosh, Gwen, and Cecil to one of the bombs then come back. We'll need you to teleport everyone" Castiel touched Tosh's shoulder with one hand and Cecil's forehead with the other. Gwen grabbed Tosh's shoulder and they disappeared. A couple seconds later Castiel reappeared.

"Okay, to the next site. Take The Doctor, Rose, and Owen." Castiel nodded. The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand as Castiel touched Owen's and Rose's foreheads.

A couple seconds later Castiel reappeared.

They disappeared. Castiel reappeared. Only Jack, Ianto, and Natasha were left.

"Okay just us."

As soon as they got their Castiel let go of them and disappeared again. They all looked around at the buildings lining the road. It was dark and the lamp lights were the only thing lighting the area.

"Where…" Gwen started, "wait I know this neighborhood!"he looked down the block and saw Rhys' car. Her eyes widened. Tosh looked around too.

"Isn't this your neighborhood?" Tosh asked. Gwen nodded. Cecil started down the block. Tosh and Gwen followed.

"Why is it in my neighborhood?" Gwen asked, scared.

"Because you're the most sloppy." Cecil said kindly.

"What?" Gwen asked, catching up with Cecil.

"We couldn't find anyone elses house. Owen doesn't even own a car so we couldn't track it, Toshiko's house has some sort of deflector so we couldn't do much more that locate the half of town she lives in, Jack lives at your base, and Ianto doesn't even seem to exist when it comes to government information. Nobody knows where he lives. You on the other hand are all over the place. Police files, records of your expenses, social security, medical history, land line… your husband's twitter," he smiled playfully, "they all are flashing red lights for anyone who wants to find you." Cecil explained. He turned onto a street parallel to Gwen's flat. "So we found the closest place where we could put something underground." He stopped at a manhole cover. Tosh and Gwen came up next to him.

"We have to go into the sewer?" Tosh asked, unhappily.

"It's not a sewer. It's the clean water supply. It transports your drinking water. This is hatch repair workers go down to check on the pipes. Somebody help me lift this." Cecil and Gwen pulled the lid up. It weighed far more than Gwen expected.

"This thing is heavy."

"Well yeah," Cecil said, "they want to keep civilians out." The dropped the lid next to the opening.

"Now what?" Gwen asked. Cecil gestured to it.

"After you." Gwen started climbing down followed by Tosh then Cecil. Gwen dropped onto the floor. Tosh landed next to her. They were in a dark, damp, tiny, room. There was a large pipe going through the room. Cecil climbed down.

"There." Tosh pointed. There was a giant sphere wedged beneath the pipe. It was red and grey. It was obviously the bomb. She pulled the instructions she'd been given out of her pocket.

"So in order to disarm it we have to-" She was cut off by the clicking back of a hammer. Tosh and Gwen turned. Cecil was pointing a revolver at them.

"Sorry Tosh. Gwen, I'm sorry. But we're not here to disarm it." He looked at them calmly. "Now, over there." He gestured to the opposite wall with his gun. Gwen and Tosh backed away from the bomb.

"Cecil what are you doing? You don't really want to blow everything up." Gwen spoke softly.

"I do really want to blow everything up." He replied blankly. Gwen looked at him. It was clear he was telling the truth. He did want to blow up the city.

"Why? Why say you'll help us then not?" Gwen asked. Cecil walked over to the bomb and looked at it, still pointing his gun at them.

"Because I'm not a traitor. I'm loyal to my friends and I don't just change sides because Jack's not crazy anymore. I'm sticking with it. Did you not question why they didn't have anyone guarding the bomb? They knew I was going to come set this one off for them." He pulled something out of his pocket and placed it on the ground. It appeared to be a small box.

"But why blow a city up just to get revenge on one person?"

"I don't question my orders. I just follow them. If that's what the bosses want it's what I want." He said simply. Gwen could see through it though.

"Who's in danger?"

"The whole city of course." He said.

"No, no. I mean in your life. Who will they kill if you betray them?" She asked. Cecil smiled.

"You're clever, Gwen Cooper. I'll give you that. It's my family. They're in danger."

"Your family? Who?" Gwen asked. Cecil took a deep breath.

"My boyfriend, for one. Probably my sister and niece too. I don't care about my brother in law. But I do care about everyone else. My family is more important to me than your city." Cecil said calmly. There was no anger in his voice. He wasn't evil or crazy. Cecil was just a person doing what needed to be done.

"I hope your family's okay in the end. But we're still going to stop you."

"You do that. Good luck. Personally I'm going to leave while I can. Bye." He continued to face them as he climbed up the ladder. He climbed out onto the street and pulled the cover back over the hole. He pulled his vortex manipulator out of his pocket and magnetized the manhole cover. He pressed another button and disappeared. Gwen hit on the cover.

"It's no use." She said.

"Well then let's deactivate the bomb." Tosh said, walking back over to it. She stopped and looked at the box Cecil had put down. She picked it up and looked at it. Gwen walked over.

"What is it?" She asked. Tosh held up the box.

"He put this down." Gwen looked down at it. It was just a little cardboard box, the size of Tosh's hand. She opened it up. Inside was a speaker and one of the disk bombs.

"Shit." Gwen muttered. "What do we do." Suddenly the speaker crackled to life and Cecil's voice came out.

"I'm sorry guys." The speaker said, "But I have to set the bomb off."

"Shit!" Gwen grabbed it out of Tosh's hand and chucked against the wall, hoping to break it. It continued to crackle

"So here goes:" Cecil's voice continued, "Escape." The bomb went off. A ball of fire consumed the room. _

Meanwhile The Doctor, Rose, and Owen were standing next to a small house. They looked around. It was a long road full of little suburban houses. The one they were next to was white with blue trim. It seemed peaceful enough.

"So why didn't he send one of the people who knows what's going on with us?" Owen asked. "I mean wouldn't have sending one of the time agent-y people with us be useful?"

"I guess Jack needed both Natasha and Castiel." Rose said. "Doctor you got the instructions right?"

"Yeah. Apparently the bomb is in the basement of this house." He gestured to it.

"So we're going to break into their house?" Owen asked.

"I don't…" The Doctor trailed off. He walked towards the house. Owen and Rose suddenly noticed it too. There was red all over the windows.

"Do you think..?" Rose started.

"Knowing them," Owen said, "yeah. Come on." Owen walked passed The Doctor and into the house. He was right. As soon as they opened the door they were in the living room. But there didn't seem to be much living going on in there. There were three bodies lying on the ground.

"These must be the homeowners." Rose said softly. She walked around The Doctor and looked at the people. There was an elderly couple and a small boy. Owen took each of their pulses. He shook his head at Rose. She sighed.

"Better find the basement." She said. Just then there was a clattering noise from the kitchen. They all stopped. The Doctor stared at the bodies. Owen and Rose walked quietly towards the kitchen. They were proper Torchwood operatives. Bodies no longer shocked them. The boy had made them both sad but death was normal for them. The Doctor was used to being able to save everyone every time. It was taking him longer to adjust to losing lives. He caught up to Rose and Owen as they reached the kitchen. They looked around the corner. There was a door next to refrigerator that was so awkwardly placed in the side of the room it must be the basement. It was also being guarded by Ginny. It was pretty obviously the basement. Ginny was sitting in a chair next to it. Her wand was sitting next to her on the counter. She was reading an odd newspaper. Rose had never heard of it and the pictures moved. But she'd question that later. Right now Ginny was between her and saving the city. Rose drew her gun. The Doctor grabbed her arm and looked into her eyes. She pulled her arm away.

"Owen." She whispered. "As soon as I shoot her wand knock her out. Okay?" Owen looked at her for a second.

"Killing her w…" He trailed off. "Okay." He stepped in front of Rose and she aimed over his shoulder. She squeezed the trigger and the wooden wand on the counter blew into bits. Ginny jumped up just in time to look at the splinters before she was punched by Owen. She hit the ground and came up swinging. She knocked him over but as soon as Rose was close enough she socked Ginny, making her hit her head on the counter.

"There's a cupboard under the stairs. Shove her in there and lock it." Owen said to The Doctor. He blinked for a second. After a moment he realized that he had to follow orders now and started dragging her towards the stairs. Rose walked over to the door and pulled it open.

"Yep. It's the basement. Come on." She and Owen walked down the stairs. As soon as The Doctor and took her vortex manipulator and closed the door he ran after them. He followed them down the stairs into the basement. After a moment his eyes adjusted to the lower light and he got a look at the room. It was full of boxes, broken furniture, and canned foods.

"There." The Doctor pointed to a giant sphere sitting in a box.

"The bomb?" Owen asked.

"Yep. Electric one. Made in the fiftieth century, would have been rustic to them but still very effective. It compresses electricity and this explosive liquid until it becomes incredibly unstable. The disk bombs send heat and shocks into the ground which causes the electricity to zap the explosive which sets these off." It was half red and half grey. There was a circular white plate that covered the line on one of the sides.

"It looks like a pokeball." Owen said. The Doctor and Rose looked at him.

"A what?" The Doctor asked.

"Nevermind." Owen said quickly.

"Well it'll be hard to disarm it." The Doctor said, "I guess now is the time to test my new sonic." Out of his pocket he pulled his new sonic. It looked just like his old one but the tip was purple and the aluminum was of a darker color. He flipped it in his hand and pointed it at the bomb. He put his ear near the white plate. There was quiet clicking noises. He smiled.

"What is it?" Rose asked, noticing his sneaky smile.

"It's a normal lock." He said.

"What?"

"This is like any lock you need a key for. Except the key is just a bunch of small individual pieces of metal that have to be moved remotely. All I have to do is listen for the pins." The Doctor knew how to pick locks. One of the pins clicked into place. He didn't expect it to be this easy. The second one clicked. He always thought how funny it was that once humans found the "right" way to do something they never changed it. The third pin clicked. Thirty centuries in the future they were still using a variation of the normal old key locks. The last one clicked.

"There we go." The Doctor stepped back. The top of the ball opened up to reveal a ball of tubes and gears. There was a line of red dots along the side of it. Owen and Rose stepped around The Doctor to look at the bomb.

"Now how do we-" Rose was suddenly cut off by an earth shattering explosion. Something had just exploded in the middle of town. Rose looked at the bomb. The gears started to move and the tubes started pumping.

"Did she say fifteen minutes?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah." Owen said.

Jack opened his eyes. They were standing on a cold and windy beach. It was dark except for streetlamps near by.

"I didn't realize it was night yet." Jack said.

"Follow me." said Natasha, walking towards the docks. The followed her down the beach. Clouds covered the sky above them and it was drizzling but there was a static in the air like a storm was approaching. Jack turned the collar up on his jacket. Castiel didn't notice the cold. Natasha was completely silent.

"Natasha where is this thing?" Jack asked, catching up with her.

"Underground. We buried it under the docks. We're going to need to dig it up."

"Lovely." Ianto muttered.

"Do you have a plan for how to do that? It's not like we have shovels or anything." Jack said.

"We've got an angel. We don't need them." They walked silently for a while before reaching a dock. Natasha waved them to the side. She looked around the corner. Zelda was guarding a large area of dirt and sand. It had clearly been dug up and put back. Natasha turned to Jack, Ianto, and Castiel.

"Zelda is guarding. You have to take her out." She whispered. Ianto looked at Jack. Jack looked nervous.

"Cas you do it." Jack turned to him. Natasha shook her head.

"We don't want them to know that we've switched sides yet." She whispered. "You or… what's your name again?" She asked turning to Ianto.

"Ianto."

"You or Ianto have to do it." Jack looked at Ianto. They spoke silently through their eyes. Jack couldn't do it. Ianto sighed.

"I'll do it. Do they already know that we have one of those knives?" He was referring to the angel blade.

"Yeah they saw us use it in the warehouse." Jack said.

"Good. Gimme one." Ianto held out his hand. Castiel took one of the angel blades out of his coat and handed it to him. Ianto looked at it for a second. "Okay." He turned to glance at Zelda.

"Be careful." Natasha muttered. Ianto took a deep breath and turned to that he would be visible to Zelda. She was looking the opposite way.

"Hey!" Ianto said. She turned around. In one smooth motion Ianto threw the blade. It struck her in the chest and she hit the ground. He walked over and pulled it out of her chest. Jack came around the corner.

"How'd you do that?" He asked, awestruck.

"What?" Ianto looked confused.

"Throw that."

"I was one of the best fighters when I worked for Torchwood one." Ianto said like he'd said it a thousand times. Suddenly Jack realized he'd been accessing the wrong memories. He was thinking about the Ianto in The Doctor's universe. They were almost identical except for how they got into Torchwood. In that universe Ianto had been a part of a destroyed Torchwood London and was only mediocre at fighting. In Jack's world Ianto was transferred to Torchwood Cardiff to help with their defense. Ianto was the one who trained Owen, Tosh, and Suzie how to use guns when Torchwood three was originally formed. Jack blinked. He'd just accidently mixed up the memories from his other life.

"Right…" It hadn't occurred to Jack how confusing remembering two lives was going to be. Ianto looked at him awkwardly.

"Anyway," Natasha interrupted, "Cas can you help uncover this?" Castiel walked over, stepping over Zelda. He raised his hand and chunks of dirt lifted up to reveal a large orb that was buried eight feet down. Castiel moved his arm to the side and dropped the dirt a few yards away. Natasha jumped down into the ditch. Jack and Ianto jumped in after her. Jack crouched down to look at the hunk of metal.

"So this is the bomb. Huh." Jack said, running his hand along the grimy surface. Well-" Suddenly a deafening boom stopped him short. The sound shot through the air making the dock drop dirt on them and their teeth rattle. Jack gave Natasha a fearful look. Ianto pulled out his stop watch and started it.

"Fifteen minutes on the clock."

"I don't understand." Jack said. Natasha's face darkened.

"I do." She said darkly. She looked at Castiel.

"Cecil." Castiel said simply.

"What?" Ianto asked. "He was on our side, right?"

"Seems he wasn't." Natasha said. "Castiel and I had been planning to double cross them from the beginning but Cecil only joined us three days ago. He had figured out what we were going to do and asked to be part of it." She explained. Jack took a deep breath.

"Castiel. Go find Tosh and Gwen." Jack ordered. Castiel tipped his head to the side. "Make sure they're okay. Grab the bomb from their area and bring it and them here. Go." Castiel disappeared.

"If they were caught in the blast-"

"How do we stop the bomb?" Jack cut her off.

"Jack, you're friends-"

"How do we stop the bomb, Natasha?" He stared at her. She took the hint and stopped talking about them. Jack didn't want to think about it.

"We need to start by removing this outer shell. There's a lock inside you need to pick. Using magnets." She explained.

"Crap." He muttered. Magnetic pin locks were one of his least favorite things. He looked at Natasha. Ianto watched them quietly, messing with the angel blade.

"Can you disarm it?" Jack asked Natasha.

"Not a good idea. I'm pretty clumsy." She said apologetically.

"Fourteen minutes." Ianto called out.

"No you're not." Jack said angrily. "You're a ballerina and silent assassin. We don't have time for this. Clumsy my ass!" He crossed his arms. That last thing he wanted was another person backstabbing him.

"Okay fine!" She held her hands out in front of her. Her fingertips were burned and raw.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"I gave you fifteen minutes on each bomb. It took pulling those things apart and putting them back together. My hands are spent." She said. Jack looked at her hands for a minute.

"Gimme the magnets." He said. Natasha reached into her pocket and pulled out one large circular magnet and another long thin one.

"Goodluck." She tossed them to him and sat down. Jack pressed the circular magnet against the grey circle on the side of the bomb, leaned his ear on it, and started moving the long thin magnet around like he was picking a lock. Ianto sat down and watched his stop watch. They sat in silence.

"They were caught in the explosion." Everyone turned to look at Castiel. He was standing behind Ianto. He was carrying Gwen over his shoulder and Tosh was propped against his arm. The bomb floated in front of him. He dropped it into the pit next to Jack. He slowly took Gwen off his shoulder and lay her and Tosh on the ground.

"Are they-" Jack started. Natasha stepped in front of them, blocking Jack.

"Jack hurry up. Now we have two to stop. Keep working." She said.

"Are-"

"Jack!" She shouted. He looked at her for a second before returning to working on the bomb. Natasha looked down at her hands before pulling out a second pair of magnetic lock picks. She winced while she did it but she started working on the second bomb. Ianto walked over to Castiel. Tosh and Gwen were both covered in burns. Tosh was almost unrecognizable.

"Are they alive?" Ianto asked.

"Toshiko is." Castiel said simply. Ianto's eyes turned to Gwen. She wasn't as burned as Tosh but the side of her head was collapsed.

"Brain trauma?" Ianto asked quietly. He didn't want Jack to hear. Castiel nodded. Ianto looked at her body. Her eyes were open, staring with horror at the thing that had caused her death.

"You can heal people right?" Ianto asked.

"Yes."

"Can you bring people back from the dead?" He looked at Castiel. Castiel thought for a moment.

"Only if heaven allows me."

"Would heaven let you bring Gwen back?" Ianto asked. This time Jack heard him.

"Back? Wait is she dead!?" Jack ran towards them. Natasha caught him before he reached them.

"Castiel will save her! We need to keep working! Ianto how much time do we have left?" Ianto looked at his stop watch.

"Twelve minutes."

"Jack we need to keep working damn it!" Natasha dragged him back.

"Are they-"

"Jack," Ianto said calmly. Jack stopped pushing against Natasha. "They're going to be fine. But they won't be if you don't keep working." Ianto and Jack's eyes met. Jack took a deep breath. He turned back to the bomb and got back to work.

"Thank you." Natasha said quietly to Ianto. He nodded.

"I will have to make a good case for bringing her back. She's not from my version of earth after all."

"She saved people as a cop, she saves people at Torchwood, and she was trying to save people when she died. She's worth saving. Even if this isn't your planet." Ianto looked at Castiel. Castiel thought for a moment.

"I can at least start by healing Toshiko." He bent down and tapped her arm. Light obscured her body for a minute. It faded and her eyes opened. She was completely okay.

"How'd I get here." She muttered as she sat up.

"I retrieved you from the explosion." Castiel answered. Ianto put his hand out and helped Tosh to her feet. She took a few wobbly steps before steadying herself.

"Cecil backstabbed us. He armed the bombs and-"

"We know." Ianto said calmly. He gestured to Jack and Natasha. "We're disarming them now." Tosh took a calming breath.

"What about The Doctor, Owen, and Rose? Are they okay?" Tosh asked.


	2. Chapter 2

"How's it looking?" Owen asked. The Doctor had his glasses on and was slowly cutting some of the tubes. They squirted blue goop.

"It's looking like a bomb. Funny human brains how do you get around in those things?" The Doctor grumbled.

"Don't mind him. When he gets stressed he likes to insult species. He hasn't adjusted to the fact that _he has a human brain too!"_ She said the last bit louder so The Doctor would hear her.

"Time Lord brain, human body." He corrected her, cutting another tube.

"If it's a part of a human body it's a human brain." She told him. Owen watched them. He didn't have a full understanding of what exactly The Doctor was but he was finding the conversation interesting. The Doctor cut another tube. This time it squirt green goop. The whole thing started to vibrate.

"Got it! Alright everyone we gotta get out of here." He ran up the stairs.

"Why? You disabled it." Owen asked.

"It's not going to explode dangerously but it's going to electrocute the whole building. Someone grab Ginny." They ran outside, Rose dragging Ginny. They stood out in the street as they watched all the lights flash and windows shatter. It felt like a small earthquake. Suddenly the house burst into flames.

"Um… I'll call the fire department." Owen said awkwardly before pulling out his phone and walking away.

"How do we find everyone else?" Rose asked.

"You don't." They turned to see Cecil standing behind them.

"Cecil? Where's Tosh and Gwen?" Rose asked.

"Hi guys. Rose," He smiled at her, "Do you remember when you shot me in the head? I sure do." He was pointing his revolver at her. He stepped closer to her as he aimed between her eyes. She resisted the urge to back up and stared him down.

"Where are they?" Rose asked. Owen walked over with his gun pointed at Cecil.

"Well now I'm going to repay you."

"No you're not." Castiel suddenly appeared. The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand as Castiel tapped The Doctor's and Owen's foreheads.

"Shit!" Cecil swore as they disappeared. He put his revolver back and pulled at phone out of his pocket. He messed with it for a second before holding it to his ear.

"Yes?" Mycroft answered.

"We've got traitors. They disarmed one of the bombs and Castiel seems to be helping them. The fact that the whole city hasn't exploded yet might be a sign at Natasha betrayed us too. Only she would be able to extend the count down.

"Where's Ginny?"

"She's here. They knocked her out. She doesn't have her wand either."

"Alright. I'm sending you coordinates. Meet us there."

"Yes sir." Cecil hung up and looked down at his vortex manipulator. He pressed a few buttons, picked Ginny up, and disappeared is a blue ball of light.

Castiel, Rose, Owen, and The Doctor appeared next to the pit. Jack and Natasha had opened the bombs up and were cutting tubes.

"Did you disable it?" Jack asked.

"Yep. But Cecil tried to kill-"

"We know." Ianto cut them off.

"Cecil attacked Gwen and I too." Tosh said sadly. Tosh was sitting down on the edge of the pit, watching Jack and Natasha disable the bombs.

"Well Tosh you're okay." Owen said.

"How much time do we have?" Jack asked.

"Seven minutes." Ianto answered.

"Where's Gwen?" Rose asked. Castiel shifted uncomfortably. He stepped out of the way. Rose finally saw Gwen. She was crumpled, bruised, and burned. Rose gasped.

"Is she dead?" Rose asked, turning to Ianto.

"Right now? Yes. But Castiel was right about to bring her back. _Weren't you?_ " Ianto said.

"I don't know if heaven will allow it." He muttered.

"Cas," Jack turned to look at him, "the least you could do is check." Castiel stared at him.

"Okay. I'll ask." Castiel disappeared and Jack got back to work. Rose sat down on the edge of the pit next to Tosh.

"Are you okay?" She asked her.

"Physically? Yes." Tosh said, "But mentally, being betrayed and then burned aren't a good combo."

"Yeah." Rose nodded. She didn't know what to say but Tosh appreciated the sympathy.

"Are you okay?" Tosh asked.

"A bit spooked, Cecil did point a gun at my face and plan to murder me. That wasn't fun." They sat silently.

"Six minutes." Ianto called out.

"Can somebody take this from me?" Natasha asked.

"Yeah sure." The Doctor dropped down next to her and took the knife she was using to cut the tubes from her. Natasha backed up and leaned against the dirt walls lining the pit. She looked down at her hands, which had started to bleed.

"Can I help you with..?" Owen gestured to her hands. She looked at them again. There was sand in her cuts and the burns were kind of sticky.

"Yeah sure." She held her hands out. He pulled out a med kit and started cleaning her hands. Jack cut another tube and his bomb started to shake.

"Cas?"

"He left to help Gwen." Ianto said.

"Shit! We gotta get outa here." Jack said. He grabbed The Doctor and jumped out of the hole.

"Whats going-" Tosh started.

"The thing is going to electrocute it's surroundings." The Doctor answered. Everyone scrambled away from it.

"Ianto how much time does that other bomb have?" Rose asked. He looked at his stop watch.

"Four and a half minutes." He answered as they ran far enough down the beach to not get electrocuted.

"Wait will it set off the other bomb?" Rose asked The Doctor.

"I don't actually know." He said. The Doctor looked at Jack. Jack shrugged. The Doctor turned to Natasha. "Do you know?"

"I'm not-" Suddenly the electricity shot out, shaking the ground. There was a silent moment as they waited to see if the other bomb would go off. After a few seconds they walked closer. Jack reached the pit and stopped. The bomb was gone. He stared at it. Ianto walked up behind him.

"What?" He asked Jack.

"I don't know." Jack shrugged again. Ianto looked down and noticed the dent in the sand that had held a bomb seconds before.

"Is it all clear?" Rose asked coming around the corner.

"I don't know. It's not here." Owen and Tosh walked over. The stopped at the edge.

"Where'd it go?" Owen asked. They all stood there.

"How much time did it have?" Jack asked Ianto. He looked at his stop watch.

"Three minutes." They all stood there. But The Doctor was still standing on the beach. He looked down at letters in the wet sand. Nobody else had noticed them. He was pretty sure it was on purpose.

"'Doctor,'" He read aloud, "'Use Cas. Back 6 minutes. Steal the bomb while we run away. Few second window before electrocution. Teleport away. Defuse it. Sincerely, yourself.'" He read, "Huh." He turned to look at where the group was. He saw another message down the beach. He ran over and stopped. It was from himself again but this time was messy and harder to read.

"'Don't go to the dock or let Jack disarm it. Leave Gwen where she is. She'll come to you.'" The Doctor looked over to where the group was. He ran up to them.

"Two and half minutes." Ianto said.

"Guys listen to me!" The Doctor said, running over.

"What?" Jack asked.

"We still have to defuse the bomb." The Doctor said.

"We don't know where it is." Jack said.

"I know. But I know how to stop it." The Doctor said.

"Okay how?"

"We need Cas."

"Do you still want me to save Gwen?" Castiel asked, after hearing The Doctor's plan.

"Yes." Jack said.

"Later." The Doctor cut him off. Castiel and Jack looked at him.

"She could help." Jack said.

"No. We have to leave her where she is. Cas we need you to take us back 6 minutes.

"He can't time travel." Jack said. He looked at Castiel. "Can you?"

"Yes." Castiel said simply.

"See?" The Doctor said, "Now Cas. Take us back 6 minutes. We need to steal the bomb from ourselves."

"So we go back, Cas can steal the bomb because he can't get electrocuted, he'll teleport us away, and I guess I can disarm it while you leave the notes to yourself?"

"No. You can't disarm them. Natasha you do it."

"Why can't-"

"Don't question the sand!" The Doctor said. There was silence while Rose tried not to laugh.

"Okay. I guess you're in charge right now." Jack gestured to him.

"Good. Alright Cas. Take us back 6 minutes." Everyone grabbed ahold of each other. They disappeared. They all stumbled to a stop on the sand and few yards away from themselves. They looked around.

"Okay.," The Doctor said, "Tosh and Ianto watch for when they, us, whatever, start running. When Tosh they tell you, Cas you will go over there and take the bomb. Owen keep watch once they've run off to make sure they don't find any of us. Jack and Rose, check the docks."

"Why?" Rose asked.

"Just a hunch. Meanwhile I'll write myself the notes. Once I'm done, Cas you'll teleport us away where Natasha can disarm the bomb. Everyone got it?" He asked. They all nodded.

"Let's go guys." Jack said. They all walked in opposite directions. The Doctor walked down the beach to the spot where he'd found the note. He picked up a stick and started writing in the wet sand. He looked over at the group of them from a few minutes ago working on the bombs. He finished the note and looked up again. He walked down the beach, skirting around them. He glanced over. A figure was standing over Gwen. The group didn't notice. The figure reached down and tapped Gwen. The Doctor watched silently as all her wounds healed and she opened her eyes. She looked up and immediately her eyes landed on The Doctor, standing down the beach. The glanced at the group, noticing The Doctor standing there too. She looked over at him again. He put a finger to his lips. She looked at him confused.

" _Lay down."_ He mouthed, gesturing at her to lay down.

" _Why?"_ She mouthed.

" _Play dead."_ He mouthed. She squinted and shook her head. He looked at her annoyed.

" _Play dead!"_ He mouthed, angrily. She noticed the look in his eyes and lay down. He slowly skirted around the group.

"Shit! We gotta get outa here." The Doctor heard Jack say. Jack from a few minutes ago grabbed The Doctor from a few minutes ago and jumped out of the hole.

"Whats going-" Tosh started. They took off down the beach. The Doctor ran past them. He ran to Gwen. And helped her up as Cas walked over. Gesturing at it he picked up the bomb.

"Stay away from the docks!" Gwen said suddenly.

"Why?" The Doctor asked.

"They're on the dock."

"The time agents?" He asked. But before Gwen could answer The Doctor turned to Castiel. Castiel was standing behind him.

"Cas. Take the bomb and Gwen and teleport to someplace else on the beach. Do not go to the docks. As soon as you get Gwen and the bomb there, teleport the rest of the group to the same spot. How can I contact you?"

"Pray to me." Castiel said simply.

"Uh. Okay." The Doctor shrugged. "I'll pray to you when I need you to get me."

"Alright." Castiel touched Gwen's head and disappeared. The Doctor ran down the beach. He messily wrote the second message then ran off again. He slowly approached the dock. He reached up and pushed himself up on his hands, pulling himself up onto the dock's with only his arms.

"There!" Someone shouted. A second later The Doctor felt like he'd been punched in the chest. He let go and fell off the dock. He stumbled to his feet and looked down. There was a knife in his shoulder. It was placed so that it would have hit a heart had he still been a timelord. Someone grabbed his neck from behind and choked him into unconsciousness.

_.

Castiel, Gwen, Tosh, Ianto, and Owen stood next to Natasha as the defused the bomb. They were down the beach from their original spot.

"How much time?"

"I think about 2 minutes. I'm not sure." Ianto said. His stop watch was still running as if they were by the pit. He was estimating. Natasha cut another tube. It oozed goo.

"There." She announced, finally defusing the bomb, "Alright let's get out of here before it electrocutes us." Natasha led them as they all ran away from the beach. They climbed up onto the docks in time to watch the bomb shoot electricity in all directions, hitting a lamppost, making the light bulb explode, and killing the seagull sitting on top of it.

"So we're safe?" Owen asked.

"The bombs are gone." Natasha said, shrugging.

"But where's Jack, Rose, and The Doctor?" Tosh asked. Nobody said anything.

"Where were Jack and Rose going?" Gwen asked.

"The docks." Owen said.

"Seriously?" Gwen said frustrated. "Cas did the Doctor-".

"No." Castiel said. Gwen sighed. She knew this couldn't be good.

"Alright." She said. "Owen, Tosh, and Natasha go that way and Cas, Ianto, and I will go this way." She pointed each direction. Everyone nodded.

"And watch out for the other Time Agents." Gwen said as people started to turn to go. "They probably know their bombs haven't exploded." Everyone nodded again. They all split up and walked down the dock. Castiel followed Gwen and Ianto down the dock, looking at everything like it was mildly confusing. Ianto talked quietly to Gwen.

"So why are we looking for them? What's wrong with the docks?" He asked.

"They're up here." She said quietly. Ianto watched her. She didn't seem to be paying attention to her own words.

"The Time Agents?" Ianto asked.

"'Course." She said. Ianto looked at her.

"Gwen Are you alright?" He asked.

"Who else would we be worrying about." She said quietly. It didn't seem to be a question. He opened his mouth to say something when there was a gunshot. They turned around to see that Castiel was gone and in his place stood Mycroft, flanked by Starfire and Cecil. Clearly Starfire had been able to heal herself and now looked just as mad as Cecil. Mycroft was pointing a gun at them.

"Hello." He said, lazily, as if threatening them was boring him. Gwen and Ianto looked at each other. They knew this wasn't good. Afterall Castiel had disappeared.

"Hi." Ianto replied sarcastically. "Can we help you?"

"Probably." Mycroft responded.

The Doctor opened his eyes. He looked down at his chest. Someone had stuck some bandages over the knife wound but it was still bleeding. He looked at his hands, they were tied together. He looked at the wound again. He pressed down on it with his bound hands. It hurt but he needed to slow the bleeding. He sat up and looked around. It was very dark but he could hear breathing and see things within a foot of his face. He heard shuffling. He squinted in the darkness.

"Doctor?" He heard somebody whisper.

"Who's that?" The Doctor asked.

"Doctor!" Another voice piped up, this one he recognised as Rose's.

"Rose?"  
"Yeah it's me and Jack." She whispered again.

"You guys are okay?"  
"More or less." Jack answered. The Doctor started to get up before slumping back down. He was too weak.

"No don't get up." The new voice said. "Just wait. The rest will show up soon."

"Who are you?" The Doctor asked into the darkness. He couldn't see the source of the voice.

"Not important. What is important is that you stay right there and wait until the rest arrive."

Natasha, Owen, and Tosh walked down the dock. It was quiet except for their footsteps. They looked around.

"What are we looking for?" Owen asked.

"Jack, Rose, or any sign of the other time agents, I think." Natasha said. She kept scanning the pier.

"And if we don't find anything?" Owen added.

"Turn around and follow where the others went I guess." Tosh said. Natasha nodded. Owen sighed. They walked in silence for a while.

"Hold up." Natasha said. Owen and Tosh stopped.

"What?" Owen asked.

"Sh." Natasha was scanning their surroundings. She heard silence. She moved to take a step forward and heard the crunch of sand behind her. She spun around and pointed her gun at the person following them. But there was nothing there. Natasha looked down at the sand on the dock. There was footprints that hadn't come from them. She stared at the prints. She watched at the sand shifted, quietly crunching. She pointed her gun at the spot in front of the prints.

"If I shoot this spot you'll be covered in splinters." She threatened. Owen and Tosh looked at each other, confused.

"Nata-" Owen started.

"I don't know how you're invisible." She continued, ignoring Owen. "But I know you're there." There was a swooshing noise and suddenly Ginny appeared. She was hold a cloak in one hand and a gun in the other. She glared at Natasha, pointing the gun between her eyes.

"You're a traitor." Ginny said.

"And you're using a muggle weapon." Natasha added, mildly surprised. Ginny tensed. Clearly that wasn't something she wanted pointed out.

"You're coming with me." Ginny said simply.

"Three to one?" Owen asked. Suddenly a bag was pulled over his head. "Hey!" Natasha and Tosh twirled around but it was too late. Natasha and Tosh were hit over the head from behind and collapsed.

Owen had the bag pulled off his head. He looked around. Gwen, Ianto, Natasha, Tosh, and he were all leaned up against a shed on the docks, their hands and feet tied. Gwen and Ianto were awake and he was squeezed between the uncious Natasha and Tosh. He nudged Tosh's shoulder.

"Tosh. Tosh." She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Ginny, Mycroft, and Cecil were standing together talking in a group. Tosh nudged Natasha awake. She snapped awake and immediately started to untie her hands.

"Damn she's efficient." Owen muttered.

"Sh." Ianto shushed him. He and Gwen had been trying to listen to their conversation.

"Where do you think he went?" Ginny asked.

"Back to his planet I guess. He always was a scaredy cat." Cecil said. Ginny shook her head.

"No. He must have a goal in mind. Or he would have smited us right then and there." Ginny said. Mycroft stood silently. Then they all looked up. Starfire was floating gracefully to the ground, carrying John with her.

"About damn time." Cecil muttered.

"What took so long?" Mycroft asked. Starfire said something in her language. Mycroft, Ginny, and Cecil all looked at John.

"They had good defences." He explained. Starfire nodded and turned to look at the captured crew. John turned too.

"Hello." He said, smiling sexily at the group. Everyone glared back.

"Bothered nobody blew up?" Ianto asked. John shook his head.

"I'm no psychopath eye candy. I don't revel in what I do." His eye gave a hint of sadness. But soon the sickening pride return.

"Oh really?" Ianto asked.

"Yes really. We're not crazy people hell bent on the destruction of a city. We're regular old people with a bone to pick with Jack."

"So you would risk the destruction of an entire city to get back at one guy?" Ianto asked. John shrugged.

"Guilty." He winked at Ianto. John walked over towards the rest of the group, Starfire trailing behind him. They talked quietly. Natasha untied her wrists and started working on Ianto's.

"Well fuck you too Ginny." John said loudly. Natasha and Ianto froze.

"Well I don't care I don't want to hand them over."  
"Do you want Jack or not?" John asked. Ginny muttered something. "Thought so."

"Now… let's get going."

There was a knock on the door. The Doctor looked around, trying to find the sound.

"Who is it?" The unknown voice asked into the darkness.

"Your aunt Judy asshole." John said. Jack tried not to laugh. John was a dick but at least he was a funny dick.

"Captain John Hart?" The voice asked. There was silence for a moment.

"Yes." He muttered. Again, Jack tried not to laugh. There was some shuffling around and the door opened. John stood in the door. He stepped into the darkness.

"Why are you in the dark?" He asked.

"It's mysterious." Answered the voice. The Doctor searched for the source of the noise because it wasn't the person who opened the door. It was in the back of the room.

"Can I…" John started, sarcastically covering up his awkwardness, "perhaps turn on a light?"

"Perhaps?" The voice mimicked.

"Can I turn a damn light on?" He asked.

"Of course John." The voice cooed.

"Thanks."

"If you can find the light switch." They finished their sentence.

"Oh fuck you." He muttered. The voice then giggled.

"Of course John. Raz please turn on the lights." The figure that had open the door walked away into the darkness and flipped a switch, blinding everyone in the room. When The Doctor's eyes finally adjusted he saw that he was in an old warehouse. Jack and Rose were across from him on the other side of the room and in between them was Captain John, a pale, doodle covered, clone in a green suit, and a person with long brown hair and a sweatshirt. The clone (assumably Raz) walked away from John and stood next to the person. They sat on a crate, smiling at John. They were a plain looking with a big toothy grin. They put out their hand. John tried not to roll his eyes as he stooped and kissed their hand.

"Thank you for coming John." Their said.

"Thank you for the funds." He responded. The Doctor glanced at Jack and Rose. They had her eyes fixed on the person and Jack had his fixed on John.

"Have you used them well?"

"We got them down here didn't we?" John said.

"Hmm. And yet I have Jack and you don't." The person said. John smiled his most charming smile.

"Yes but we have the others. So in exchange…" He prompted.  
"I give you Jack Harkness and you give me?"

"The money paid with interest." John responded. The person made a face.

"Eeh." They groaned. John's smile dropped.

"That was the agreement." He reminded them.  
"Yeah but I have Jack now."

"What do you want?" John asked.

"I want some of Torchwood."

"Oh." John seemed surprised. "Which ones?"  
"These two." The person gestured to Rose and The Doctor. "And whichever one you call eye candy. And I'll take whichever Time Agents betrayed you if you don't mind."

"You can have the three from Torchwood. I don't know how much you want Castiel (who we can't find) or Natasha Romanoff."

"Oh it's black widow?" The person said. "Nevermind. I enjoy living."

"Good call." John said. They stuck out their hand again. He kissed it, backed up, and turned to go.

"I'll be back in half an hour with Ianto." Raz open the door for him and let him leave. Raz turned to the person. He signed something to them in a form of sign language. They nodded. They looked at Jack. It was weird for The Doctor playing second most important to Jack.

"Hello Jack." The person turned to him. They stood up. They had long brown hair, a grey sweatshirt on, and black leggings. They looks so normal it seemed weird to see them interacting with John. They smiled.

"Who are you?" Jack asked. Rose watched the person closely.

"I go by many names." They answered, giving him a wink. He rolled his eyes.

"What do I call you?"

"You may call me The Viewer."

"The viewer? What is the Watcher copyrighted?"

"Yes but that wasn't the point." The Viewer smiled. Jack cocked his head to the side.

"What do you want?"  
"What do you mean?" The Viewer asked.

"You want these two right? Why?" Jack purposefully avoided using The Doctor's name. Why expose that they'd captured a Time Lord if he didn't have to?

"No I just came for my money back. I lent some to John in order to fund all this and he promised me my money back. I was watching it all go down when I realized that now was the moment I had always looked forward to. I'd always wanted to stop watching and really actually interact with one of you guys so I decided to abduct you."

"Did you really have to stab me?" The Doctor asked. The Viewer turned to look at him. They smiled.

"I didn't stab you."

"Did your clone pal?" The Doctor gestured to Raz. Raz flipped him off.

"Raz? Gosh no. You were actually stabbed by one of the Time Agents we think and Raz stole you from them." The Viewer stopped to smile at them.

"Oh. Thanks then." The Doctor shrugged. Raz signed something. The Viewer translated for them.

"I wasn't risking the chance of the only Meta-Crisis dying." The Viewer translated. The Doctor's eyes widened.

"Oh yes Doc. We know who you are. Like I said, I'm The Viewer." The Viewer smiled. "And Raz is a big fan." Raz gave The Doctor a thumbs up.

"What?" Rose asked.

"Oh and Rose," The Viewer turned to her, "you're my favorite companion."

"Thats-" She started. There was a knock on the door.

"Is it my aunt Judy again?" The Viewer asked.

"Fuck you." John responded. Raz flicked off the lights before opening the door. All the Time Agents and the rest of Torchwood stood there.

"Let's make a deal." John said.

The Time Agents stood together as John and The Viewer talked. Natasha, Owen, Tosh, and Gwen all had their hands tied and Ianto looked drugged too. Ginny was trying to keep him propped up.

"Do I have to keep doing this?" She muttered to Cecil. He shrugged.

"So I give you the cute one, the new guy, and blondie as a down payment and I'll give you your three thousand credits after I sell all of Torchwood's stuff."

"Leave my stuff alone." Jack kicked John from his seat on the floor.

"Shut up Jack." John kicked him back. "Are we agreed?"

"I want it on paper John." The Viewer said.

"Really." John whined.

"Yes." The Viewer crossed their arms. Ginny turned to Cecil.

"Really do I have to keep holding him?" She whispered.

"Just drop him I guess." He whispered back. Ginny dropped Ianto on the ground next to Jack. Jack immediately started crawling towards Ianto. He shook him.

"Ianto." He whispered. Ianto mumbled something about cabbages. "Come on." He shook him again.

"Fine. I'll skip it on paper if I get to keep a piece of your soul." The Viewer agreed.

"Nevermind. Somebody get us some paper." John mumbled.

"Ianto please get up." Jack said. Natasha kicked Jack. He looked up.

"Shh." She shushed him. He scrunched his eyebrows together and looked confused.

"Anybody got a pen?" John asked. Ginny handed one to John. "Alright. So I'm writing that you get Ianto, Rose, The Doctor, and three thousand credits-"

"With a fifty credit per day interest."

"-with fifty credit per day interest in exchange for Jack. Good?"

"Gimme." The Viewer held out their hand. They read through the paper.

"Yeah that works. Signature?" They handed the paper to John who signed it. He handed it back. The Viewer took the paper, reread the paper and signed it. They folded up the paper.

"Cool?" John asked. The Viewer handed the signed paper to Raz.

"Yeah we're cool."

"May I ask," John asked as he stood up, "why do you want new guy and blondie? I assume you want to fuck eye candy."

"I'm putting the only living Meta-Crisis on display with the famous Bad Wolf and Ianto will be my sexy maid." Raz made a face. "Second sexy maid." The Viewer corrected themselves.

"Did you just rip me off?" John asked. "Are they worth-"

"A lot more than Jack? Yes." The Viewer smiled. John considered shooting them for a second before deciding not.

"'Till later darling. You staying here?"

"This is where you can drop off my credits. Yes."

"Good." John turned to go. He gestured to the Time Agents who started to push Natasha, Owen, Tosh, and Gwen out the door. He turned to Jack and gave him a sickening smile. Jack then felt a crushing dread. They were going to take him and kill him and this crazy person was going to put The Doctor and Rose on display and put Ianto in a little outfit and keep him as a slave. He was fucked. John stepped towards him.

"No purpose in running sweetheart. Better to just-"

"Now!" Natasha suddenly sounded. In unison Natasha, Owen, Gwen, and Tosh all snapped the ropes around their wrists and attacked the nearest Time Agent. Gwen finally got Mycroft in a headlock, Tosh knocked Cecil out, Owen held a gun to Ginny head, and Natasha had electrocuted Starfire unconscious. John stood there shocked. Natasha walked over to Jack and cut the ropes that bound his hands. He immediately grabbed Ianto.

"What happened to him?" Jack demanded.

"They drugged him. They thought that would make it easier to hand him over." Natasha answered. She walked over to Rose and started cutting her free. She handed the knife to Rose and she went over to The Doctor.

"Tosh switch with Owen. Owen find a way to wake him up." Jack ordered.

"Better get him back to Torchwood." Owen said, handing his gun to Tosh. Jack stood up and turned to look at John.

"Come on." He said dangerously. "Doctor, bring The Viewer and their clone friend with us too. We're taking them all in."

Jack collapsed on the couch. Owen was trying to help Ianto, Natasha and Gwen were throwing the last Time Agent, Cecil, into a cell, and Tosh and The Doctor were putting the names of everyone they'd caught into the computer. Jack stared at the ceiling. Rose walked over a sat down next to him. She leaned over and put her head on his shoulder.

"Hey Jack."

"Hm?"

"What do we do with The Viewer and Raz?"  
"Lock 'em up. Why?"

"Don't they just seem like petty criminals to you?" Rose asked. Jack thought about it. The two of them really were just money lenders. Sure they were lending money to people who needed the money for an abduction but still.

"Yeah but what else do we do?"  
"Isn't there some sort of intergalactic police?" She asked.

"Yeah. Not like we can reach them though."

"Well maybe." Rose sat up. "We could use their tech. They have working Vortex Manipulators. Maybe we can reach them."

"Do we have to give them John though?" Jack asked. Rose gave him a look.

"You really want to deal with him for the rest of forever?" Rose asked. Jack didn't even need to think about it.

"Never mind. Send him away." Rose laughed and leaned her head on Jack again.

"I'm sorry all your old friends came back to get you."

"Not all of them. Natasha and Castiel didn't want me dead." Jack said, trying to find a silver lining.

"Speaking of Castiel," Rose said, "whatever happened to him?" Rose asked.

"I had to go." Castiel said. Rose and Jack turned to see Castiel walking towards them.

"Where'd you go?" Rose asked.

"I was summoned by heaven." Castiel explained. "I have a mission and have to go. I came to say goodbye."

"Oh." Jack stood up. He shook Castiel's hand. "Thanks for helping then. What's your mission?"

"I have to save some human from hell."

"Good luck with that." Jack said. Castiel smiled and turned to go.

"On your way back would you tell the Shadow Proclamation who we found?" Jack said. Castiel nodded. "Well good luck with saving that human."

"Hope he's pretty!" Jack called. There was a quiet flapping noise and Castiel disappeared. Jack turned to Rose.

"The Shadow Proclamation will come and collect all of them. They'll decide what to do. For now we keep 'em here."

"I guess that works." She shrugged. Jack sat back down on the couch. He leaned on Rose.

"How was meeting all my friends as a first mission in Torchwood Three?"

"Better than expected."


	3. Chapter 3

Jack drummed his fingers on his desk nervously. It was friday, a week since anything interesting had happened at Torchwood, and he'd told Ianto that they would leave for the movie at seven fifteen. It was seven and Jack felt like he was about to go bouncing off the walls. He watched as Ianto walked around picking up trash, checking the cameras, and doing all the stuff he's paid to do. Jack pulled at his shirt, making sure he'd put each button through the right hole (you'd be surprised how often he got them wrong), straightening his collar, and making sure it was tucked in. He messed with his hair and watched Ianto as he cleaned the coffee machine. Tosh. Gwen, and Owen had gone home and The Doctor and Rose back to their hotel (friday night afterall). After what felt like and hour Ianto walked over to Jack's office. He knocked on the frame of the door. He was wearing his coat and holding up Jack's.

"You ready to go?" He asked. Jack jumped up and smiled at Ianto. Ianto helped Jack into his coat and they walked out to the car. As they drove Ianto sat in the passenger seat and watched Jack. Jack pulled off the highway. Ianto sat up straight and looked at the street signs.

"This isn't the rode to the movie theater. It was the next exit." He said.

"I know." Jack said glancing at Ianto. Ianto looked at him suspiciously and crossed his arms. Jack pulled off onto a dirt road before stopping in front of an orchard. Jack jumped out of the car and Ianto climbed out of the passenger seat. He watched Jack as he started off into the orchard. He turned to smile at Ianto who was leaning on the car.

"Come on." Jack waved him over. Ianto turned his collar up and followed him. Jack put out his hand and Ianto took it. They walked hand in hand for a moment before Jack stopped and let go of Ianto's hand. He licked his lips for a moment as he thought how to say it.

"Ianto I…" He started before shutting his mouth and taking a deep breath. Ianto raised his eyebrows.

"Yes?" He prompted.

"I'm... well... I'm…" All Jack's preparation and ideas for how he would say it escaped him.

"Jack. Why are we out here? It's freezing." Ianto felt like laughing. Jack was tongue tied. For a guy as sexy and suave as Jack he was terrible with romance. He could get anyone to love him but once he loved them he lost his touch and didn't know what to do. Ianto shook his head.

"I'm…"

"What? Some sort of big annoucement yeah? Are you pregnant or something?" Ianto joked.

"No. Well it wouldn't have been the first time-"

"Do not tell me." Ianto put his hand up and smiled. "Those stories always end so weird. I don't want to know." He smiled at Jack. Ianto's smile calmed Jack slightly. He took a deep breath.

"Will you marry me?" Jack asked quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth. Ianto's eyes widened. Jack held out his hand. Between his thumb and index finger he was holding a simple silver ring. Ianto looked at it. He had known for days that Jack was going to ask him just by the way he'd been acting but Ianto didn't expect a ring.

"Of course." Ianto said quietly, beaming at Jack. Jack closed his eyes and sighed with relief.

"Ianto…" Jack said quietly, smiling at him. He took Ianto's hand and slid the ring on his finger. Ianto smiled down at it. He hadn't noticed before but there was three little blue diamonds pressed into the silver. He wiggled his fingers and watched it shine. It was beautiful. Ianto looked up at Jack for a moment before grabbing the back of his neck and kissing him. Jack leaned into the kiss and he brought his hand to Ianto's cheek. Ianto pulled away from Jack and smiled at him.

"Someone was a bit tongue tied. Nervous Harkness?" He teased. Jack shrugged.

"Maybe." He answered sheepishly. Ianto laughed and shook his head. He looked around at the orchard.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"You don't recognise it?" Ianto shook his head.

"Am I going to get in trouble if I say no?"

"How did we meet?" Jack asked Ianto. Ianto looked up as he tried to remember.

"Well _you_ met _me_ when I saved your ass from a weevil. I was going to start at Torchwood the next day." Ianto said. "Wait," Ianto stopped and looked around again, "was that here?"

"Uh-huh." Jack said. Ianto laughed and looked at the ground. He would have never guessed how silly and sentimental Jack was. Jack lifted Ianto's chin and gave one of his sexiest smiles. Ianto threw his arms around Jack and hugged him. They stood for a moment just hugging. Ianto leaned back, his arms still around Jack's neck.

"You realize you're tied down now right?" Ianto teased, "No more crazy space adventures. You're stuck on earth."

"How about we have crazy space adventures together?" Jack asked. Ianto laughed and shook his head.

"Sure." He said, humoring him. He let go of Jack and took his hand. They walked back to the car.

"Can we go to anyone planet for our honeymoon?" Jack asked as Ianto leaned against him.

"You're an idiot." He muttered.

"Is that a yes?" Jack asked hopefully.

"Yes."

It was Monday morning at 9 and every wished they were still asleep. Tosh and Owen were the only people whose weekends had been uneventful. For Gwen she'd been dealing with Rhys's family all weekend who want grandkids, Ianto and Jack had been on dates every night making the most of the time that they are both engaged and not in danger, and Rose had been learning that sex with The Doctor was _awesome._ In summary it had been an exhausting weekend for most. Jack sat back in his office smiling at the ceiling. Little known fact: most of the time Torchwood isn't that eventful. They file things and do government paperwork a lot. They update and re update their security codes and then play some basketball. Jack looked out across the hub. Ianto was making coffee, Rose and Gwen were chatting at their computers, Owen was looking at the files they'd made on the biology of the Time Agents, The Doctor was playing with his newly finished sonic screwdriver, and Tosh was actually working. He looked down at the paperwork on his desk. Maybe he should just send everyone home and have the day off. It wasn't like anyone was really doing anything. Ianto walked into his office and put a cup of coffee down on his desk.

"Hey." Jack said. Ianto smiled at him.

"What?" Ianto asked. Jack shook his head.

"I can't say hey?" He asked.

"Not in that tone of voice you can't." Apparently Jack had accidentally used his sappy, daydream voice he uses periodically. Ianto stood there for a second waiting for Jack to say something before shrugged and turning on his heel.

"Bye." Jack said sweetly.

"Bye." Ianto replied sarcastically. "Idiot." He muttered. Jack watched him leave.

"I love you." Jack called after him.

"Yeah. Okay." Ianto said back. Secretly he enjoyed when Jack was cheesy but he'd never tell Jack that. That'd spoil the fun.

"Hey Ianto." Owen said.

"Hm?" He turned and looked at him.

"I experimenting with a new batch of retcon and spilled a few chemicals. Could you clean it up?" Owen was pretending to be polite but Ianto knew full well it wasn't a request. It was an order. He nodded.

"Great!" Owen said, walking off. Ianto rolled his eyes. The chemicals used for making retcon were sticky and toxic separately. This meant wearing an apron, giant gloves, a face mask with respirator, and an ungodly amount of expensive cleaners. Ianto grumbled as he collected the stuff needed for cleaning the supplies. He walked down the stairs towards one of the cells they used for mixing toxic materials. He looked through the plexiglass at the interior of the cell. It was full of smoking liquids spilled on the floor, half full beakers, and a mountain of green goop Ianto didn't even recognise. The grumbled something about Owen never cleaning up and put on the giant rubber apron. He pulled on the gloves and put on his face mask.  
"Fuckin useless." He said, picking up the beaker that was beginning to dissolve. He dropped it in the trash and started scrubbing the smocking chemicals off the floor. They had started the corrode the cement. He muttered something about ungratefulness. After about an hour of scrubbing the floor was clean and the beakers were gone. Ianto turned to the big goop pile.

"Oh come on. What even is this." He poked it with a gloved hand. It stuck to the glove. He watched as it started to eat its way through the glove. Ianto sighed.

"And these were designed to resist corrosive materials." He pulled off his glove and dropped it on the table. He then felt something sticky on his sleeve. Some of the chemical goop had gotten on his cotton sleeve and it was too late. He watched as it burned through the cloth and hit his wrist. But it didn't burn. A little itchy maybe. But not burning. It just kind of faded into his skin. Suddenly his head began to spin. He grabbed one hand onto the table for support. He felt his eyes burn and black spots appeared before his eyes. He tried to stay upright. He put his other hand down on the table to hold himself up; he could feel his knees giving. Then he looked down, in putting down his second hand he'd put it right on some of the goop. It covered his whole palm. It sank into his skin as he sank to the floor. Ianto lay on his back on the floor as his eyes drooped shut.

"Oh my god!" Rose shouted. She'd gone down to inspect the vaults and found Ianto laying spread eagle on the floor. She rushed forward and knelt next to him. She shook him.

"Ianto!" She shouted at him. "Ianto!" She shouted again. There was no response. She pulled his arm up over her shoulder. She pulled she had enough of Ianto over her shoulder to get to the stair well. She stumbled there, hauling Ianto.

"Jack! Doctor!" She yelled. "Please it's Ianto!" She shouted. There was some crashing noises and the sound of running down stairs. Jack appeared at the top of the stairwell and The Doctor arrived behind him.

"Doctor, go get Owen." Jack ordered. The Doctor turned around and ran back up the stairs. Jack ran to Rose and pulled Ianto off her back. He gently lay Ianto on the floor.

"Ianto." He said softly, touching his face. "Ianto." He said louder, tapping it. Finally he shouted his name "Ianto! He slapped his face. Ianto didn't wake up.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"I came down the inspect the vaults and he was just laying on the floor." Rose said.

"He's still of the respirator, apron, and one glove on. There's a burn through one of his sleeves."

"Something must have burned through his sleeve and somehow knocked him out?" Rose offered. Jack nodded. The Doctor and Owen came running down stairs.

"Oh shit." Owen said. "He must have touched my new vat of Retcon Plus." Owen said looking at the burned sleeve. He pulled Ianto's eye open and looked at his pupil.

"What?" Jack asked.

"I was making this new type of retcon that was a cream. We could just smear it on people and they'd forget. We wouldn't have to worry about putting it in their food or as a pill." Owen said.

"And it burns through clothing, why?" Jack asked angrily. Owen shrugged.

"It's a work in progress." Owen said. "Let's get him upstairs."

Owen injected a stimulant into Ianto's arm.

"This should wake him up." Owen said. Jack held Ianto's hand. Everyone stood around waiting. Jack held his breath. Suddenly Ianto jerked away, flailing his arounds around.

"Get off me! Let go!" He shouted. He punched Owen.

"Everyone give him air." Jack ordered as everyone stepped back. Ianto looked afraid. He looked around at all of them staring down at him.

"Ianto are you okay?" Jack asked.

"What?" Ianto asked, sitting up. Owen rubbed his jaw and mumbled something about nobody caring about him. Tosh began to walk back to her desk.  
"I asked if you were okay Ianto. You accidently got drugged." Jack explained.

"I don't take drugs. Who are you? How do you know my name?" Ianto asked. Everyone froze.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"How do you know my name?" Ianto asked, looking at Jack.

"Ianto, it's me." Jack said, trying to laugh it off. He touched Ianto's arm but Ianto pulled away.

"It's Jack." Jack said. Ianto stared at him.

"Ianto stop messing around." Jack said.

"Do I know you?" Ianto asked. Everyone stared at them. Jack looked pleadingly at The Doctor.

"Ianto," The Doctor said, Ianto turned to him, "are you saying you don't remember who Jack is?"  
"I don't even know where I am. What's going on?" Ianto asked. Ianto looked around. Everyone stood there, dumbstruck.

"What's the last thing you remember?" The Doctor asked. Ianto scoffed before realizing it was a genuine question.

"I was walking back form school. Why?" Ianto asked. Nobody knew what to do.

"School?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah."

"Ianto," The Doctor looked at him awkwardly, "How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

Owen was asking Ianto questions. Ianto was eating a sandwich in the medical area. Jack sat in his office looking shell shocked. He just stared straight ahead. Ianto had the memories and mental capacities of a seventeen year old. He didn't know who he was and worse, at least for Jack, he didn't know who Jack was. There was a soft knock on the door frame. Jack looked up to see Rose silhouetted in his door.

"Come in." Jack said. Rose gave him a sympathetic smile."Is he really…" Jack asked.

"Appears so. His knowledge of himself checks out. Every file about Ianto before age seventeen matches us with what he says. Somehow Owen's new retcon erased a lot of time.

"So he's just missing 9 years of his life?" Jack asked.

"Yeah." Rose answered. Jack breathed a long sigh.

"What do we do?" He asked.

"There isn't protocol for memory loss of a Torchwood agent?" Rose asked. Jack looked sad.

"There is." He said.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"It's sending them back to Torchwood one for re education and psychological evaluation and, if possible, retraining for working at Torchwood."

"And?" Rose asked, "What's so bad about that?"

"They have to reeducate him in his senior year of high school as well as his entire college degree. Then it takes the average person about three years to complete Torchwood training. Add time physiological evaluation and getting him up to speed on what's happened since the 90s and… it would take forever to get Ianto back." Jack said sadly.

"It could take him all nine years." Rose said.

"Besides, they can teach him about Torchwood and even tell him what he thought of the people he knew but you can't teach someone a feeling."

"He'd be restarting all his relationships." Rose said.

"Yeah." Jack said softly. Now Rose knew what was wrong.

"How long did it take you and Ianto to go from meeting each other to engaged?" Rose asked.

"About two years." Jack answered. Rose gave him a sympathetic smile. She sat down on his desk.

"Eleven years isn't too long to wait for the love of your life Jack." Rose said. Jack held back tears.

"But I don't want to wait eleven years for the love of my life. I want to wait four months." He muttered.

"Four months?" Rose asked.

"We were planning the wedding for October." Jack said quietly. Rose smiled at him. Jack was so sweet.

"Well, let's consider waiting eleven years plan B. Okay? Plan A is finding out if Owen can fix him." Rose said softly. Jack gave her a weak smile.

"Let's make it plan C. Plan B will be magic Time Lord knowledge from The Doctor." Jack said. Rose nodded.

"Alright. Eleven years is plan C." Rose said, resting her hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack took a deep breath.

"Well, I guess I better go talk to him."

"So you're my boss?" Ianto asked. Jack nodded. He'd just finished explaining to Ianto who each person was and that he worked for Torchwood.

"And you catch aliens?" Ianto asked. Jack nodded again. Ianto laughed.

"Mate you're off your rocker." He said. "That's bunk."

"Wanna see an alien?" Jack offered.

"Aiight sure." Ianto said shrugging. He followed Jack towards the vault.

"Meet Janett." Jack said gesturing to a weevil.

"OMG what is that thing?" Ianto asked.

"We call their species weevil thought according to the Doctor they're actually called Zanderaxian. Their from the planet Shallacatop."

"And she got here through that rift thingy you mentioned?" Ianto asked.

"Yep." Jack said. Ianto stared at it.

"Holy shit." Ianto muttered.

"The Doctor is also an alien by the way." Jack added. Ianto looked at him.

"You're kidding." Ianto said.

"I'm not." Jack said.

"Weird. Aiight. I believe you." Ianto said.

"Follow me." Jack led Ianto back upstairs. Ianto followed Jack, slouching the way teenage boys do. He followed Jack to his office. Gwen got up and followed them.

"Take a seat." Jack pointed to the chair he placed across from his desk. Ianto sat down and looked at him.

"I bet you have questions." Jack said.

"Yeah." Ianto replied.

"Ask away." Jack said. Ianto took a couple deep breaths. Gwen went and stood next to Jack.

"Can I see my family? How come The Doctor looks human if he's an alien? What year is it? What am I like as an adult? Why do I dress like a nerd? Can I take this off?" He held up his hand. He was referring to his engagement ring. Jack acted as though that didn't rattle him. Gwen grimaced, knowing for a fact it was hurting Jack to see how much Ianto wasn't liking the ring.

"You can't see your family just yet but maybe later. The Doctor looks human because that's what his species looks like. It's 2009. As an adult you're very polite and very hard working. You dress that way because it looks cool. And yes you may take your engagement ring off if you wish." Jack answered. Ianto sat silently for a second as he twisted the ring off his finger. Then it dawned on him.

"I'm engaged?" He asked.

"Yes." Jack answered. Gwen watched them.

"Then why do I have the engagement ring?" Ianto asked.

"You were proposed to." Jack replied.

"I'm a weenie as an adult if my girlfriend had to propose to me." Ianto said. Jack tried not to find that funny. "Anyway someone will have to tell her the wedding is off." Ianto said. Jack felt something catch in his throat.

"What?" Jack asked. Gwen rested her hand on his shoulder. He took a deep breath.  
"Well I assume I don't know her, right? I can't marry her if I don't know her." Ianto shrugged.

"We'll inform her you're sick." Gwen said. "And that we're doing everything we can do cure you. That way if we give you your memories back you won't have done any damage to your relationship." Ianto nodded. He tucked the ring in the pocket of his vest. Jack felt himself break a little as Ianto slip it away like it was nothing. Ianto stared at him.

"So you guys are working on getting my memories back right?" He asked. Gwen nodded.

"Owen is working on a way to counteract the formula that took your memories away in the first place." She explained.

"Okay." Ianto said. They all waited silently for a moment.

"Any other questions Ianto?" Jack asked. Ianto looked at him. He had noticed that Jack was attractive but was crushing that feeling because it was gay.

"Why'd my memories get taken in the first place?" Ianto asked.

"It was an accident." Jack said. Ianto sat for a moment.

"Whose fault?" Ianto asked. Jack smiled.

"Either yours or Owen's." Jack said. Ianto nodded.

"I vote for Owen." Ianto said. Jack laughed but he still felt sort of hollow.

"Me too."

"So Ianto," Owen said, "it should take some tinkering but I'm sure we'll fix your memories." Owen drew some of Ianto's blood. Ianto simply nodded.

"We're going to take an MRA too as well as these blood tests." Rose told him. He nodded again. Jack stood a few feet off, watching them test Ianto. The Doctor stood next to him.

"You okay?" He asked.

"No." Jack answered bluntly. The Doctor smiled.

"I'm sorry Jack." The Doctor said.

"We'll fix him." Jack said.

"I believe you." The Doctor replied. "I can still be sorry you had to look your fiance in the eye and have him not recognise you." Jack simply sighed.  
"We had dinner plans to introduce me to his family tonight."

"What are you going to do about that?" The Doctor asked.

"I already left a message saying that Ianto was feeling sick and we'd have to do it another night." Jack said. The Doctor nodded.

"That's the sort of normal human stuff I hate." The Doctor said.

"Me too." Jack replied. They stood there for a moment.

"For now are you continuing to plan like nothing happened?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah. I'm trying to do as much of the stuff I can do on my own as I can right now." Jack answered. The Doctor nodded.

"Like what?"

"You wanna be my best man?" Jack asked, still watching Ianto. The Doctor looked at Jack but Jack didn't notice. The Doctor watched him.

"Of course Jack. I'd love to be your best man." The Doctor answered.

"Thanks." Jack said simply. They stood silently. The Doctor rested his hand on Jack's shoulder and they watch Ianto continue to be tested. Owen waved a wand thing over Ianto's head.

"What's that?"  
"It's like an alien MRI." Owen explained, "Well I'll need to run the tests overnight so. I guess everyone can go home." Owen said. Rose looked at Jack.

"Should we put him up in a hotel?" She asked. He nodded.

"Don't I have an flat or a house or something?" Ianto asked. Rose looked at Jack again. Ianto did have a flat but he shared it with Jack. If Ianto went home he'd find out he was living with a man.

"You're currently between houses." Jack told Ianto. Ianto nodded. "Tosh would you be in charge of that?" Tosh nodded, she knew that that would have been Ianto job usually but as he was unable to do it.

"Come with me Ianto." Tosh lead him out of Torchwood.

"Alright everyone," Jack said, "dismissed." The Doctor gave him one last pat on the shoulder before taking Rose's hand and leaving. Gwen stood there. She gave Jack a sympathetic smile before leaving. Owen went about hooking up all the test. Jack stood there. He sighed and went back to his office. He picked up his stuff.

"See ya Jack." Owen said as Jack left the hub. Jack went back to his and Ianto's flat. As soon as he got in he could tell that Tosh had packed up some of Ianto's stuff for him. Jack started crying.

"I've got good news and bad news." Owen said. It was the next day and Jack, Ianto, Rose, Gwen, and The Doctor were gathered around to hear Owen's findings.

"Hit me." Jack said.

"The good news is that Ianto hasn't lost any of his memories." Owen said. "Unlike usual Retcon were wipes the memories, Retcon Plus appeared to have simply masked them. They're still in his brain he just can't access them." Jack sighed. If they had been wiped they would have been much harder to find.

"That is very good news. Usually your good news is just that you ordered pizza. What's the bad news?" Jack said.

"His brain has completely forgotten how to reach those memories. The neurons in those areas are dead. Which means there is only one way to get the memories again." Owen said. He paused dramatically.

"How?" Ianto asked.

"A lobotomy." Owen said. Everyone's faces dropped.

"Brain surgery?" Ianto asked. He didn't know. Owen wasn't qualified to operate on the brain.

"Yes." Owen said. "But I can't perform the operation. I'm not neurosurgeon and it's a dangerous surgery anyway even with a trained doctor." Everyone stood around quietly.

"Those are the only options?" Gwen asked. Owen nodded. He turned to Jack.

"So now what Jack? I perform risky surgery on Ianto's brain or we send him back to Torchwood one for re training." Owen said. Jack thought.

"Do I get a say in this?" Ianto asked. Everyone looked at him.

"That's actually a good question." Rose said, "He's technically an adult but he has the mind of a minor. What do you do about that?"

"If he has the mental capabilities of a seventeen year old then we should treat him like a minor. Next of kin makes the decision." Jack decided.

"That's not you, ya know?" Gwen said. Everyone looked at her.

"It thought I was." Jack said.

"Let's check his files." Gwen said. "Hey Tosh can you pull up Ianto's personnel file?" Gwen yelled over her shoulder.

"Sure." Tosh typed on her keyboard and pulled up Ianto's file. "What do you need to know?"

"Next of kin." Gwen responded.

"Rhiannon Davies. His sister." Tosh responded. Gwen looked at Jack.

"I'll make sure he changes that after October." Jack said, grumpily.

"What's in October?" Ianto asked. Nobody answered him.

"So now what?" Jack asked.

"We go and ask his sister." Gwen said.

"Aw shit." Jack said.

Jack and Gwen stood outside the Davies family house. Gwen knocked. Jack looked nervous.

"It's okay Jack."

"We planned this whole thing where'd I'd meet them and Ianto would do the introductions. It was a better idea. This is stressful. How do I say it?" Jack looked lost. Gwen tried not to think it was scute.

"Do you want me to do the talking?" Gwen asked.

"No." Jack said sharply. He took a deep breath. Gwen knocked again. The door swung open. Johnny was standing in the door.

"Who are ya?" He asked.

"Is this Rhiannon Davies house?" Gwen asked.

"Ya and I'm 'er husband. What ya want?" Johnny asked.

"It's about Ianto." Jack said. Johnny turned his attention to him.

"And you are?" He asked.

"Captain Jack Harkness." Jack stuck out his hand. Johnny looked him up and down.

"You the one marrying 'im?" Johnny asked.

"That's me. And this is Gwen. She works with us. May we come in?" Jack asked.

"Might as well." Johnny said. He stepped to the side and Jack and Gwen stepped into the house.

"We need to speak with Ianto's sister." Gwen said.

"Rhiannon!" Johnny shouted.

"Yeah?" She shouted back.

"It's a frien' of your brother's and tha guy who wants to marry 'im!" There was a crashing noise and Rhiannon appeared from the kitchen. She looked at Jack and Gwen. She gave Jack a big smile and patted down her hair.

"Rhiannon Davies." She shut out her hand.

"I'm Jack Harkness." Jack shook her hand. "This is Gwen Cooper." They shook hands. Rhiannon looked behind them, expecting Ianto to be there.

"Where's Ianto?" She asked.

"That's why we're here." Jack said. Rhiannon could hear the intensity in their voices. She lead them to the living room where the four of them sat down.

"Ianto experienced some severe head trauma recently and we need your permission as his next of kin to perform an operation." Jack said quickly. "I admit I had hoped to meet you in a better way than this." Jack sounded sad.

"What kind a head trauma? What happened?" She asked.

"It's a long story but the main thing is that Ianto can't remember a thing after being seventeen." Jack said. Rhiannon covered her mouth. "The last thing he remembered before waking up with a doctor was getting home from school. The only way to get back his memories of the last nine years is to perform a risky surgery. Ianto is mentally too young to make the decision and you're his next of kin." Jack explained. Rhiannon stared at him.

"Oh ma god." She whispered. Johnny put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry to meet you this way. I wanted to meet you as his fiancé not as his boss. Today I'm meeting you as both." Jack said softly.

"Where is Ianto now?" Rhiannon asked.

"With some doctors." Jack replied.

"Can I see him?" She asked.

"Are you sure you want to? The last thing he remembers is from nine years ago. It will be somewhat startling for you both to discuss anything." Jack said.

"I don't care I want to see him." Rhiannon said.

"Gwen," Jack turned to her, "call Tosh. Have her drive Ianto over here."

"Okay." Gwen said. She pulled out her phone and went into the hallway. Jack looked at the floor

"Your name is Jack right?" Rhiannon asked. Jack looked up and.

"Yeah." He said.

"Ya love ma brother?"

"More than anything else in the world." Jack replied. Rhiannon looked at Jack. Jack seemed like a nice guy who simply loved her brother. He didn't sign up for something this traumatic to happen during their engagement.

"How'd he lose his memories?" She asked.

"We don't really know." Jack lied.

"And this surgery is the only way to get them back?"

"That's what the doctor said." Jack replied. Rhiannon nodded and stared to cry. Johnny got up and put his arms around her. He whispered to her. Gwen walked back into the room.

"They're on their way." She said, looking at the crying Rhiannon.

"There's a request I have to make." Jack said, turning to Rhiannon.

"What?" She asked, wiping her eyes.

"We haven't told him that he and I are engaged. We worried what his response would be." Jack said. "Please don't tell him." Jack requested.

"We're worried?" Rhiannon asked.

"I was about to say the doctors. But it's mostly me. I don't think I could see the horror on his face." Jack admitted. "It would kill me."

There was a knock on the door. Johnny got up and went to it. He opened the door. Tosh was standing there with Ianto behind her. Ianto was slouching with his hands in his pockets. He was wearing simple jeans in a t-shirt.

"Are you Mr Davies?" Tosh asked.

"Yeah come on in." Johnny said, stepping aside. Ianto followed Tosh into the building, staring at Johnny. Tosh stepped into the living room, gave Rhiannon a sympathetic look before turning back towards the hallway.

"Come on Ianto." She said. He groaned and stepped out into the living room. Rhiannon stood up.

"Ianto?" Rhiannon asked. Ianto looked horrified.

"Sis?" He asked. Tears streamed down her face.

"Yeah it's me." She said. Ianto just stared at her. "I bet I look old." Rhiannon said. Ianto nodded.

"You do." Ianto said. "You got fat."

"Oh gee thanks." Rhiannon said. She laughed. Ianto cracked a slight smile but still look uncomfortable.

"So is that your husband?" Ianto nodded to Johnny.

"This is Johnny. Would you like to meet your niece and nephew?" Rhiannon offered.

"I hate kids." Ianto said. "I'm good thanks."

"You'll stop hating kids when you're older." She said. It was true. Once he met David he decided he liked kids more. Ianto stared at her.

"I don't remember anything Rhiannon. I don't remember you getting this old." Ianto said.

"I know. But you're going to get a surgery to fix that." Rhiannon said. "I'm your next of kin therefore it's my job to sign off on it."

"Oh." Ianto said. He nodded. Everyone stood around awkwardly.

"Would ya leave 'im with us for the afternoon?" Rhiannon asked Jack. Jack nodded and gestured to Tosh and Gwen. They all slowly trickled out of the house.

"One sec." Rhiannon said to Ianto before running after Jack. She caught him in the hallway. "Tell the doctors to get ready for the surgery."

"Okay." Jack agreed and turned away. She placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You seem like a nice guy Jack. I'm sorry your engagement involves amnesia." She said. Jack gave a soft smile. She looked at him for a moment before wrapping her arms around him and hugging him. He hugged her back. She let go and smiled at him.

"Welcome to the family." She whispered before walking back towards Ianto.

"Well while Owen reads up and brain surgery you have time to kill." Jack said to Ianto. Ianto nodded. They were sitting in Jack's office. Everyone had gone home.

"Okay."

"How you feeling?" Jack asked. He was used to asking Ianto this question.

"Fine…" Ianto said awkwardly. "Not sick if that's your question."

"No I met emotionally, Ianto. It must be hard suddenly being told you've lost your memories." Jack said.

"Do I don't want to talk about it." Ianto laughed. Jack looked confused.

"Why not?" Jack asked.

"Dudes don't talk about their feelings mate. That's gay." He said. Jack stared at him for a moment.

"Okay." Jack said awkwardly.

"What?" Ianto asked.

"People don't really say that much anymore." Jack said. Ianto stared at him.

"Why not?" He asked.

"It's considered rude to gay people." Jack said. Ianto stared at him like he was crazy.

"Who gives a shit what fags feel." Ianto said. Jack's eyes widened.

"Oh my god you're a homophobe." Jack muttered. Ianto looked at him.

"I'll call Tosh to take you back to your hotel." Jack said. He got up and walked off. He took a couple deep breaths. It was unsettling to watch Ianto's lips form a word against gay people. Jack knew those lips too well. They kissed him. They traced the lines of his body. They formed words 'I love you Jack.' They didn't say slurs. Jack took a deep breath and pulled out his phone and called Tosh.

"What?" She asked.

"Can you take Ianto back to his hotel?" Jack asked.

"You can't do it?" Tosh asked.

"I'd really prefer not to." Jack said. Tosh heard the unhappiness in Jack's voice.

"Okay. I'll come get him." She agreed.

"Thanks. Bye." Jack said. He hung up and turned to look at Ianto again. He was looking at a photo from Jack's desk. Jack walked back.

"Hey." Jack said poking his head inside. Ianto stared at the picture. "What?" Jack asked. Ianto continued to stare at the photo. Jack walked around him to look at the photo too. He caught his breath. It was a photo Ianto had taken of him kissing Jack on the cheek. They took it at a local restaurant.

"Oh that photo." Jack said suddenly, grabbing the photo from Ianto. He put it in a drawer. Ianto stared at him. Jack ignored it.

"Fuck you!" Ianto suddenly shouted. Jack turned and looked him. Ianto looked pissed.

"What?" Jack asked.

"That surgery is designed to make me gay." Ianto said. Jack laughed out loud. It was such a crazy concept. Then he realized that Ianto was serious.

"Dude. Are you kidding me?" Jack asked.

"This surgery will turn me gay!" Ianto said with quiet horror. Jack laughed again.

"I'm trying to make you you agian." Jack said, smiling at Ianto.

"Because you love me." Ianto said. Jack nodded.

"Yeah but that's not the point." Jack said.

"No it is. I'm engaged to you aren't I?" Ianto asked.

"Yes Ianto you are. We're getting married in October." Jack said. "We've been dating for like six months." Ianto stared at Jack in horror. Jack shrugged.

"You love me?" Ianto asked.

"Yeah." Jack said like it was obvious. Ianto stared at him. There was a loud clanging noise as Tosh came into the hub.

"Come on Ianto." She said. Ianto followed her out of the room, looking briefly over his shoulder to glance at Jack.

"See ya tomorrow." Jack said casually. Jack stood there alone for a moment. "Well that was emotionally exhausting." He said. He went back to his office and go that photo out of the drawer he'd stashed it in. He put it back on his desk and smiled at it for a moment. Tomorrow Owen would start surgury on Ianto and by the day after he'd have his Ianto back to normal. And if not he'll at least have an excuse to murder Owen. Jack was trying to stay positive.

"He checked himself out." Tosh said, armed crossed in front of Jack. He had sent her to pick Ianto up from the hotel.

"When?"

"Like 7 am." Tosh said. Jack swore under his breath. Everyone was standing around the computers unsure of what to do.

"Gwen and Rose we'll go to his sister's house and find out if he's there. Doctor and Owen continue to set up for the surgery. Tosh stay on the coms and look for CCTV. Everyone go." Jack ordered. He, Gwen, and Rose went out to the SUV. They all climbed in and headed for Rhiannon's house.

"Are you okay Jack?" Gwen asked.

"No." Jack said briefly.

"Why would Ianto run away?" Rose asked.

"Because he's a seventeen year old homophobe who just realized that he's engaged to a man." Jack said.

"You told him?" Rose asked.

"He figured it out himself." Jack said. "Last night. I didn't assume he'd run away."

"I guess it was a lot for him." Rose said.

"Uh huh." Jack said. They drove silently for a while. They pulled up in front Rhiannon's house. Jack ran up and knocked on the door. Mica opened the door. Jack crouched down to be at the little girl's height.

"Is your uncle Ianto here?" Jack asked. Mica shook her head. Jack sighed.

"Was he here earlier today?" Rose asked. Mica nodded.

"He was here early this morning. Woke us up." She said. Rose looked at Jack for a second.

"Would you get your mother please?" Rose asked. Mica nodded and ran towards the kitchen.

"People asking about Uncle Ianto are at the door!" She shouted. Rhiannon walked slowly to the door.

"Hello." She said.

"We're looking for Ianto." Jack said. Rhiannon cocked her head to the side.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"He checked himself out of his hotel this morning. Mica just said that he was here early this morning. Please we're worried about him." Jack said quickly. Rhiannon sighed.

"You'd better come in." She let them in. They followed her to the living room.

"Do you know where he is?" Jack asked.

"No." Rhiannon said. "This morning he came by and asked me to hide him from you lot. He's scared of the surgery. I told him the surgery was necessary and that he should go back to you guys. That he needed to. He practically begged me to hide him but I said no."

"Why was he so scared?" Gwen asked.

"He was scared it would turn him gay." Rhiannon said. "I told him that that wasn't what it did but he said he knew that you two were engaged and that he didn't want a surgery to turn him gay. I told him the surgery wouldn't turn him gay, it would turn him back into himself but he wouldn't listen. He was too scared." She looked at them. Jack put his face in his hands. Rose put her arm around Jack.

"I thought were guys weren't tell him."

"He figured it out himself." Gwen said. Rhiannon nodded.

"You have any idea where he is?" Rose asked.

"No I-" Then Rhiannon's phone rang. She picked it up. "Ianto!" She said. Jack looked up. "No I'm not doing anything. Are ya okay? I'll hide ya if ya want. I'm sorry I said no earlier." Rhiannon said. Jack nodded to her. "Of course Ianto. Where do ya want to meet?" She asked. She grabbed a pen and stared scribbling down the address. "Okay Ianto I'll be there. Bye." She put down her phone and stared at Jack.

"Thank you Rhiannon." He said. She nodded.

"Let's go get him." She said.

Ianto sat in the park by himself twiddling his thumbs. Rhiannon pulled up in her car. She approached him.

"Ianto?" She asked.

"Hey sis." She said.

"Did you bring money?" Ianto asked. She handed him a wad of bills.

"Is it so you can skip town?" Rhiannon asked.

"Yeah. I ain't letting that guy turn me gay." Ianto said. She sighed. Suddenly Ianto's hands were pulled behind him and zip tied. He turned. Rose was standing there.

"Sorry kid." She said. She hauled him up. He squirmed around

"You can't do this!" Ianto shouted as she dragged him off. Gwen appeared in front of him with a gun. He stopped squirming.

"We have the consent of your next of kin." Rose said leading him to the SUV. She shoved him in the back seat and seat belted him in. Jack sat in the driver's seat. He couldn't look at Ianto.

"Fuck you!" Ianto yelled, kicking Jack's seat. Jack said nothing. "You're awful! You fuckin bastards!" He shouted. Rose stuck a needle in his arm.

"There that should knock him out." Rose said.

"Fuck you." Ianto muttered, his eyes drooping, "Fuckin… hate… your… guts… you…" He finally fell unconscious. Jack sighed and leaned his head back.

"I hate today." He muttered.

"You're monsters!" Ianto shouted, thrashing around. He was restrained. Jack was trying very hard not to cry. Owen was getting ready to operate. The Doctor was going to help him out. Rose stood next to Jack.

"We're just trying to help you Ianto." Owen said.

"I don't want your help." Ianto said. He looked at Jack. Jack had started to cry. Ianto stared at him. Jack was crying.

"What the fuck are you crying for?" Ianto asked.

"It makes me sad to see you so unhappy." Jack said.

"Or are you sad because you don't have me." Ianto spat.

"Both. But mostly I worry for your happiness. You seem so unhappy at the concept of being you again it hurts me. It hurts to see you so angry." Jack said. Ianto stared at him.

"You really are in love with me, aren't you?" Ianto asked.

"Yes." Jack said.

"That's gross." Ianto said. Jack laughed.

"I know right. Feelings." Jack said. Ianto stared at him.

"How much do you love me?" Ianto asked. Everyone was watching them.

"More than words can describe." Jack said. Ianto squinted at him.

"That's a cop out. How much do you love me?" Ianto asked. Jack smiled.

"I love you enough to die for you. I love you enough to live for you. I'd go to the ends of the earth or stay where I am. I'd do whatever you asked." Jack said. "If, you were you that is." Jack corrected. Ianto glared. Jack gave him a teasing grin.

"You bastard." Ianto muttered.

"You're not wrong." Jack said. Ianto stared at him.

"How long will you love me?" Ianto asked.

"Forever." Jack said.

"And we'll be happily married?" Ianto asked.

"Yes." Jack said softly. Ianto stared at him.

"Okay." He muttered. "Do your surgery thing."

"Really?" Owen asked.

"Yeah. I wanna be happy." Ianto said. Owen looked at Jack.

"Alright, Ianto. Time to put ya under." Owen said. Ianto shifted a bit and nodded. Owen injected a needle in his arm and Ianto slowly fell asleep. Owen took a deep breath before looking at Jack.

"You wanna get to an angle where you can't see me cut Ianto open?" Owen asked. Jack nodded and walked off a bit. He sat down on the steps and Gwen went and sat next to him.

"You alright?" She asked. Jack shrugged.

"I will be once Ianto is alright." Jack said. Gwen nodded and rested her head on Jack's shoulder.

"Then I'll ask you again soon enough."  
_

"So you don't know if it worked?" Jack asked Owen. Owen made a noncommittal wavy motion with his hand.

"I think it worked. He's still breathing after all." Owen said. Jack stared at him.

"Are you fucking with me?" Jack asked. Owen looked awkward.

"I told you it was risky. He's still alive which means it probably worked. If it didn't then he'll wake up with disconnected memories. That's the best I can tell you Jack." Owen said. "We just have to wake him up to know."

"Okay. Wake him up." Jack said. Owen took a deep breath and walked over to the unconscious Ianto. He picked up a syringe and looked at him. He injected it in Ianto's arm. Jack walked over and stood next to Ianto. He undid the restraint on Ianto's hand so he could hold it. He kissed Ianto's hand and rested it against his chin. He watch Ianto intently. Ianto's eyes fluttered open. He stared at the ceiling for a second before suddenly flailing. He punched Jack in the face.

"Get off me! What the fuck!?" He pulled against his restraints. He flailed around with his free hand and slapped Owen in the face.  
"Fuck Ianto." Owen said, stumbling back. Ianto continued to freak out.

"Get off me! Fuck you!" He shouted.

"Ianto!" Jack shouted. Ianto stopped flailing and looked at Jack.

"Jack?" He asked.

"Yeah are you okay?" Jack asked, his voice almost a whisper. Ianto stared at him. He slowly raised his hand and rested it on Jack's cheek. They stared at each other.

"Why the fuck am I tied down?" Ianto demanded. Jack laughed.

"You're okay." Jack said. He started undoing the restraints.

"Wait." Owen said. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"You tying me down for surgery." Ianto said, like it was obvious.

"Okay cool." Owen said. He shrugged. Jack started undoing the straps on Ianto. Ianto slowly sat up.  
"You were a really angry teenager." Jack said. Ianto looked at him. He swung his legs off the table and stood up. He could remember everything he'd said to Jack. All the awful things.

"I hated everyone and everything." Ianto said. "I'm sorry." He apologized. Jack smiled and shook his head.

"It's not your fault." Jack said. Ianto looked at Jack and smiled.

"It was scary not to know who I was." Ianto said. Jack took his hand.

"It's okay now." Jack said. Ianto stood there for a moment.

"Okay." He said quietly. He took a deep breath. Jack gave Ianto loving smile.


End file.
